MULTAN:Punjab Archeology department Multan Incharge Muhammad Sajjad on Monday said that the they were in the process of engaging some consultant to decorate the interior of its ongoing Rs 80 million project of Multan museum that was expected to be completed by the end of ongoing fiscal year 2022-23.
He said this during a visit to the site located at the foot of a historical mound in the heart of the city decorated with several monuments including the centuries old mausoleums of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya Multani and Hazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam.
A sum of around Rs 44 million has so far been utilized, meaning that over 50 per cent work has been completed, said Incharge Archeology department.
The Archaeology Bahawalpur, Incharge Malik Ghulam Muhammad who holds the additional charge of Multan since retirement of his predecessor, visited the site on Monday noon to inspect the ongoing work where masons were busy applying cement plaster on remaining parts of the interior including the main hall.
He asked questions about strength of the cement-sand mixture and combination and told the contractor there should be no compromise on quality of material and work.
A tall 18-inch think wall stands built to prevent landslide and avoid damage to the backside of the museum edifice portraying a traditional architecture with dome-lets around the main dome.
Sajjad said that the process was in progress to engage an experienced consultant to decorate the interior of the museum like placement of shelves and the antiquities etc.
Museum was being built in Multan to honour the decades-long demand of the citizens and the civil society. Hard work done by the officials and voices raised by citizens and civil society were now bearing fruit, commented a civil society activist.
Sajjad said that antiquities depicting the culture, history and heritage of south Punjab would decorate the museum and would attract countless students, and people from different walks of life besides foreigners once it becomes functional by mid of year 2023.