2-Dome historic Gujarati School Building land was occupied by Pashtuns who were said to be backed by the influential people of the area

Divisional and District administration had ordered action against land grabbers

By Kamran Khamiso Khowaja

Thatta: A group of Pashtuns, who had grabbed the land of Historic 2- Domed Gujarati School in Thatta fled vacating the area after they learnt that the divisional and district administration was about to take action against them on Wednesday.

The group of Pashtuns had occupied the heritage were said to be backed by the influential people of the area.

According to reports a meeting of land grabbers was held at the site where they decided to occupy the land of the historical site. Later they were joined by dozens of laborers along with tractors who landed at the site and started leveling the land with the motive of usurping it.

The site had been declared National Heritage by the culture department, government of Sindh and its land occupied illegally was state-owned land.

Soon as this news went viral on social media the Divisional Commissioner Hyderabad and Deputy Commissioner Thatta took notice and directed their subordinates to take action and police force was rushed to the site.

According to reports, Deputy Commissioner had personally visited the site however the land grabbers had fled by that time.

The Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Abbas Baloch had instructed the Deputy Commissioner to submit a detailed report and handover the site to concerned department.

Meanwhile, the Culture Department press release in Karachi stated Minister of Culture Sardar Shah had taken serious note of occupying the heritage site and on his directives the Secretary of Culture Department Akbar Laghari contacted the DC Thatta and got the land vacated.

The Culture Department claimed that it had carried out rehabilitation work of 2-dome historic building in 2017.

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Sindh Courier

The post Land-grabbers flee from Thatta’s heritage site first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Land has been occupied by Pashtuns who are said to be backed by the influential people of the area

By Kamran Khamiso Khowaja

Thatta: The land of Historic 2- Domed Gujarati School in Thatta has been illegally occupied by a group of non-native Pashtuns who are said to be backed by the influential people of the area.

According to reports a meeting of land grabbers was held at the site where they decided to occupy the land of the historical site. Later they were joined by dozens of laborers along with tractors who landed at the site and started leveling the land with the motive of usurping it.

The site had been declared National Heritage by the culture department, government of Sindh and its land occupied illegally was state-owned land.

Historians, academia and members of civil society expressed strong resentment over the illegal occupation of the land of the historic site. They urged stakeholders of district Thatta to take measures for the retrieval of the land.

Eminent historian and Chairman Sindhi Language Authority Dr. Mohammad Ali Manjhi told that earlier it was a seminary but was elevated as a School during British rule and was one of the famous educational institutes of Sindh where English, Arabic, and Gujarati languages were taught. Scholars of that era Abdul Sattar Nohrio and Mohammad Ali Kashani were professors of Gujarati and English at the School, he added.

Secretary of Sindh Adabi Sangat Ramzan Memon warned that if the illegal occupation of the lands of archaeological sites continued the district would lose its historical prestige. He further said that taking measures for the protection of the historical sites was among the prime responsibilities of the elected representatives but they were evading responsibility.

Social activist Ayaz Lashari vowed to launch a protest campaign against the land grabbers who have occupied the land of historical sites and those who were facilitating them.

Soon as this news went viral on social media the District Commissioner Thatta took notice and directed his subordinates to look into the matter and submit a detailed report regarding the issue.

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