Survey work of Paktia Bala Hisar resumed

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): Following repeated public demand in southeastern Paktia province, the remaining 20 percent rehabilitation work survey of the historic Bala Haisar has kicked off, an official said on Monday.

Eighty percent rehabilitation work survey of the historic Bala Hisar was completed during the past government and work on the remaining 20 percent started now.

Mufti Obaidullah Reshad, head of the Urban Development and Housing Department, said a technical team had arrived from Kabul and started the remaining 20 percent survey of the Bala Hisar.

He said: “The general engineering, architect and design work was completed earlier, now only two or three parts are left in the survey, which are the electricity and water supply parts, so today this technical team have come to work on the remaining part of the survey.”

Mohammad Yasin Hijrat, an employee of the Urban Development and Housing Department, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “In order to bring all the historical and cultural heritage of Afghanistan on the map, we have divided them into eight Zones, one of these zones is Paktia, the strategic plan that we have for the next five years should include all historical places in the master plan to protect and preserve them.”

Aqal Khan Wahaj, an employee of the Information and Cultural Affairs Department said, this Bala Hisar has thousands of years of history and ranked third in the list of war forts in the country and seventh in the group of historical monuments.

It is pertinent to mention that earlier the residents of Paktia had repeatedly demanded the rehabilitation of this historic Bala Hisar.

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