Wednesday March 9, 2016
Kabul (BNA) Hoot 20 (solar calendar) coinciding March 10 corresponds with the Cultural Heritages Protection Day spotlighting material and spiritual aspect of a country, where anyone have the responsibility to protect them.
Engineer Abdul Ahad Abbasi, director of the country’s ancient cities protection and rehabilitation and acting cultural and art deputy for the ministry of information and culture told The Kabul Times that Hoot 20 (March 10) coincided the cultural heritages protection day and on the occasions, the ministry want to launch some cultural programs alongside meeting to denounce destruction of the giant Buddha statues. He said entertaining programs including music, films, photo exhibition etc… are expected to be held in the province, on the occasion, as well as in northern Samangan province, a meeting to mark the day would be held. In northern Badakhshan province, some cultural heritages are also under reconstruction by the Agha Khan Cultural Foundation (AKCF), such as Mirbik hill and old bath as well as the old Faizabad city, said the acting deputy art and cultural minister adding elsewhere in Balkh province, several historical monuments including Khawja Nasr Parsa tomb, Ahmad Khezrawia tomb and Nuh Gunbad, which is a historical mosque, have been underway expected to be completed soon.
Some other historical monuments like Prince Abdullah and Prince Qasem tombs are under construction, the budget of which had been funded by the Italian country and being implanted by the UNESCO under the protection and rehabilitation process of the ministry of information and culture. The work on the said projects had been suspended due to winter arrival and soon is expected to be resumed, said Abbasi. According to him, construction work on the Gawhar Shad tomb, the survey of which had been completed by the Italian experts had been started. Likewise, in eastern Laghman and southern Kanadahar provinces, works for reconstruction of Mehtarlam Baba shrine and Ahmad Shah Baba are underway, and work on the Khanaqa of Kabul, the capital, the budget of which provided by the ministry of information and culture had been completed and work on the national gallery are underway, the expenses of which had been provided by the development budget of the ministry of information and culture. Similar efforts are continued to reconstruct other historical monuments and tombs in Kapisa and eastern Nangarhar provinces, where the ministry of culture drawn attention from the AKCF to fund the projects, he continued. In southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces, surveys and research has started to offer the construction projects to a free competition.
He said a course; Total Station, sponsored by the South Asia Foundation, had been conducted, with 15 participants expected to be trained metrology to precisely measure the historical monuments. He asked the people for playing their key role in protection of the historical and national heritages and historical monuments and sites and informs the related organs about the harms emanating from the natural disasters and other possible dangers. Director of Bamyan provincial culture and information, Kabir Dadras said each year, his lead office holds meeting on the occasion of the Buddha destruction, and this year, would mark the world day for protection of cultural heritages, alongside which would play different programs including entertaining and local music. He complained about lack of attention to the province’s historical sites and warned they ruined by passing each day, particularly many areas in Zahak and Ghulghal ancient cities, which had been recorded in the UNESCO’s cultural sites. Meanwhile, Hamidullah Arefi, volunteer Secretary for the sought Asian foundation in Afghanistan said protection of cultural heritages is the responsibility of all Afghans. He said the foundation of has launched awareness for the protection of cultural heritages since the last 12 years in the country, where the civil society activists, school teachers’ efforts is the only way could help us reach the goal in protection of the cultural and historical heritages. This is while up to 400 historical monuments are feared to be demolished by the natural disasters or other possible dangers emanated from lack of attention to protection.
Karima Malikzada
