The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has evolved a strategy to preserve cultural heritage by maintaining shrines of Islamic saints, Budha caves and other historical sites in the Islamabad region, a senior CDA official said on Friday.
Director Projects, Muhammad Shabbir Malik said the shrines of Hazrat Mahmood Bukhari and Syed Allah Dita, a temple of Shiva and Bhuddhist cave relics will be secured and protected from decay. The Authority will also acquire services of a consultant to prepare a feasibility report on the project, which was likely to get underway this year, he said.
He said prominent consultants with vast experience of preserving historical sites were under consideration for the assignment. They include Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Sajida Vandal, S. T. Rizvi, M/S Anwar Associates, Sajad Kasuri and M/s PEPAC.
The Director said the region has historical footprints of Ghandara civilisation, Alexander the Great, Buddhism, Hinduism and Mughal Emperors who ruled the sub-continent for centuries.
The project not only involves huge funds but also highly technical and aesthetic approach to give the historical sites, which remained unattended over quite a long time, he said.
Shabbir said a comprehensive survey of the sites had already been conducted in co-ordination with experts and suggestions will also be sought from relevant private organisations for carrying out the project. CDA Chairman, Kamran Lashari directed the concerned officials to come up with a proposal to preserve the cultural sites in the Islamabad region.
The relics that make the capital a custodian of cultural heritage need to be preserved and passed on to the next generation, Shabbir added. A museum had already been established at Shakarparian and it had been attracting a large number of visitors daily.
Work was currently underway to further improve the museum and a cultural complex was also being constructed at Shakarparian, which was once called "Shakar Pahar" in memory of Hazrat Fariddudin Ganj Shakar Bakhsh, the director said. The complex will have a variety of facilities including an auditorium, an open-air theatre and special food outlets offering traditional dishes. An art and craft village was also being constructed in the vicinity of the existing Rose and Jasmine Garden in the Shakarparian area.