Sindh Information and Archives Secretary Noor Muhammad Leghari has said that the record of archives should be kept at three or four different locations to preserve the record and terms of references for achieves department should also be updated.
He said that besides this, records from all over the province should be preserved before the rainy season. He gave this statement while presiding over the first advisory meeting of working papers here at the office of Archives Clifton on Tuesday.
He directed the officers concerned to complete the ongoing schemes, including the expansion of conservation laboratory, emergency preparedness, improvement of district record rooms, establishment of photo archives, establishment of oral archives and establishment of digital archives. He also said that the five schemes, costing Rs165 million, would be initiated in the financial year 2013-2014. Information Secretary Noor Muhammad advised the officers to establish coordination with other archives institutions, private, semi-private, government institutions and national archives department to ensure smooth working environment and enhancing the status, credibility and working of Sindh Archives.
He told the meeting that the drafted bill, namely Sindh Archives Act 2012, was under scrutiny/consideration the Government of Sindh Law Department and after the passing of this act by the provincial assembly, it would enhance the working of the department. He said it was the need of the hour to revise the structure of the advisory board members to be included in the advisory board that could also collect rare record regarding Sindh from private collectors. He said that officers should be sent to Maharashtra Archeology Department to get training and to update the record of Sindh, the authorities at the British Library and British museum shoud also be contacted. He said that the objective of Sindh Archeology Department was to preserve the history of the province and the function of this department was quite different from other departments. In the meeting Sindh Archives Department Director Roshan Kanasro briefed the participants about the achievements of the above mentioned department. Former federal secretary Nazar Muhammad Shaikh, Endowment Fund Trust Secretary Abdul Hameed Akhund and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Sindh Jamshoro Dr Rafia Ahmed Shaikh also attended the meeting.
