In flood-stricken Pakistan where an unprecedented monsoon season has killed hundreds of people, the rains now threaten a famed archeological site dating back 4,500 years, the site’s curator said on Tuesday.
The ruins of Mohenjo Daro — in southern Sindh Province near the Indus River and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — are considered among the best preserved urban settlements in South Asia. They were discovered in 1922 and mystery surrounds the disappearance of its civilization, which coincided with those of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The swelling waters of the Indus have wreaked havoc as heavy rains and massive flooding unleashed devastation across much of Pakistan. At least 1,343 people have been killed and millions have lost their homes in the surging waters, with many experts blaming the unusually heavy monsoon rains on climate change.
Photo: AP
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was yesterday to fly to Pakistan to express solidarity with its people and “to appeal for the massive support of the international community to the Pakistanis, in this hour of need after the devastating floods that we are witnessing.”
He said the floods are a result of climate change that is “supercharging the destruction of our planet,” adding that “today it is Pakistan. Tomorrow it can be anywhere else.”
The flooding has not directly hit Mohenjo Daro, but the record-breaking rains have inflicted damage on the ruins of the ancient city, site curator Ahsan Abbasi said.
Photo: AFP
“Several big walls, which were built nearly 5,000 years ago, have collapsed because of the monsoon rains,” Abbasi said.
He said that dozens of construction workers under the supervision of archeologists have started the repair work. Abbasi did not give an estimated cost of the damages at Mohenjo Daro.
The site’s landmark “Buddhist stupa” — a large hemispherical structure associated with worship, meditation and burial — remains intact, but the downpour has damaged some outer walls and also some larger walls separating individual rooms or chambers, he said.
The civilization at Mohenjo Daro, also known as “Mound of the Dead” in the local Sindhi language, built an elaborate drainage system, which has been critical in flooding in the past, he said.
Although the floods have touched all of Pakistan, Sindh has been among the worst hit.
On Monday, army engineers made a second cut into an embankment at Lake Manchar, Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake, to release rising waters in hopes of saving the nearby city of Sehwan from major flooding.
The water from the lake has already inundated dozens of nearby villages, forcing hundreds of families to leave their mudbrick homes in a hurry, many fleeing in panic.
Meanwhile, rescue operations continued on Tuesday with troops and volunteers using helicopters and boats to get those stranded out of flooded areas and to the nearest relief camps. Tens of thousands of people are already living in such camps, and thousands more have taken shelter on roadsides on higher ground.
Ghulam Sabir, 52, from the outskirts of Sehwan, on Tuesday said that he left his home three days ago after authorities told them to evacuate.
“I took my family members with me and came to this ... safer place,” said Sabir, staying by the roadside where he has set up camp.
He echoed complaints of several other villagers — that no government help had reached them yet.
He said he did not know whether his home had collapsed or not.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif urged Pakistanis in televised remarks on Tuesday to generously donate to flood victims, most of whom are relying on government help to survive.
He has also repeatedly asked the international community to send more aid to the flood victims, saying that Pakistan is facing a climate-change-induced tragedy.
In a statement on Tuesday, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it handed over thousands of tents and other emergency items to the Sindh government.
Multiple experts say that since 1959, Pakistan has emitted about 0.4 percent of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, compared with 21.5 percent by the US and 16.4 percent by China. Last week, Guterres also called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” through the crisis.
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