The Rohtas Fort has been noted down as not being in the very best of conditions. There are several reasons for this: seepage, thanks to rainwater, scars of lightening on the walls of the fort, the crumbling stone walls themselves, and most possibly the infiltration of the community that lives inside the fort premises. Some problems are manmade, others natural. In any case, however, the fort needs even more attention than has been given to it.
To be fair, conservation for the fort was started by the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation in 2000, and within 11 years has managed to do a substantial level of work in order to conserve parts of the fort. However, a lot more needs to be done, if this site is to be maintained as an important historical, archeological and tourist place.
The HWF has completed its projects of the restoration of the Shah Chand Wali Gate for instance, which meant constructing the archway of the gate which had broken during past decades. They have also worked on the Conservation of the Talaqi and Gatali Gates, and have worked on documentation too. Malik Maqsood, an architect from Federal Archeology Department, has been associated with the Rohtas Fort since 1991, and says that there has been a lot more done than what is commonly known.
“We have done work on the Man Singh Haveli, as well as archeological investigation, work on tourist facilities and restoration of the walls of the Sohail (Bukhari) Gate and the top terraces. But usually this goes by unnoticed.” Local guides from the Rohtas Fort area say that the major issue lies in excavation and lack of funds. “We ask for funds but they are not released for a long time and if they are they are much less than what we asked for.
There is so much more in the site that needs to be excavated,” says one of them. True enough a massive constructive such as the Man Singh Haveli still lies half buried beneath the ground, which is a small hillock. The guide tells Pakistan Today that the building became buried during years and years of soil movement. It is still unclear why no government has bothered to do much about this issue both before partition and after. But Maqbool says that Pakistan only received ownership of this site in the 1980s. Before that it was left unattended and neglected.
He says that they will first ensure that the building above ground is properly worked upon and then they will excavate further to uncover more of the building. “Funds have never been our problem,” says Maqbool. “In fact it is the government’s policies or their indifference that have been more detrimental to our historical sites. But now after the 18th Amendment has devolved powers from the federal to the provincial government we hope that something positive happens.”
Meanwhile he claims that the monument has never received funds from the UNESCO. “UNESCO has only provided us with technical assistance,” he said. One of the archeologists, who have been working on this project, describes that the village or the local community which lives inside the premises of the fort is also being attempted to be ‘contained’.
Afzal Khan says that along with working on the Fort itself, they are also working on the development of the heritage village. “The people who live inside the fort claim to belong here since about 300 years ago,” he says. “We do not know the time line but we do know that several families have lived here since a long time before partition. However over time encroachments have sprung up of cemented houses which mar the sight of this heritage building.”
He says it is not politically and even financially feasible at present to completely remove these people from here. “After all we cannot simply destroy their homes, but we can make things difficult, like not allowing them to construct broken walls or anything, not allowing any more people to come and live here or perhaps even give them place outside the fort to live in. We need to stop them from spreading otherwise it will spoilt.” He says about 150 cases on these encroachment houses have been filed in court.
He says that seepage may even be the result of gutter lines coming from the colony but that seems highly unlikely. “It cannot be the river (Jehlum). In any case till about six years ago there was no bridge here and we used to visit the fort on boat or tractor. The major problem of the fort is natural and over time the sedimentary rock used in its construction has eroded and foundations have crumbled,” he said.
Meanwhile, they along with UNESCO are also working on the development of the Sher Shah Suri Museum and the Visitors Information Center. The Rohtas Fort was visited by a group as a tour. The trip was organized by Danka, a platform for all arts and culture activities, based in Lahore and Karachi
Can Archeologists Save It?
