Daily Times

SHIKARPUR: The former branch office of the Central Bank of India tops the list of most popular landmarks in Shikarpur district which is famous for its rich tradition, culture, history and ancient places.

The building has been a subject of negligence by the Endowment Fund Trust, an institution responsible for the preservation of the heritage of Sindh. The background of the landmark building starts with a positive history of the transformation and change of the ownership.

The bank’s Shikarpur Branch located in Shaikh Mohalla was constructed in 1940 in collaboration with the Shikarpuri Hindu traders to facilitate the local traders, once known ranked among the richest traders, much before the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.

Dr Anwar Figar Hakro, researcher and in-charge of the Sindhi Department at the Sindh University of Hyderabad, said that the banking concept had started from Shikarpur in the shape of Hundi. Later on, the local (Hindu) traders introduced the banking system and contributed to establish the bank building in the city, he said.

It is believed that a settler (mohajar), whose name could not be ascertained, purchased the building in the year 1950 in Rs13,000 through an auction. After a period of few months, Akbar Ali Shaikh purchased the building from the settler in Rs15,000 in 1950, said Ghulam Qadir Shaikh, the son of the late Akbar Shaikh, the owner of the building.

In 1959, after retaining nine years of the ownership, Akbar Shaikh with the view of promoting education among girls in the area, decided to rent out the ground floor of the building to the Education Department on a monthly rent of Rs60. The arrangement was made between the two to establish a school for the girls, as there was no educational facility available for the girls. After the agreement, the Government Primary Girls’ (Urdu and Sindhi) School was established, Qadir said.

In 2010, when the super flood had hit the province of Sindh, the building owner had asked the deputy commissioner to vacate the building, as he feared that the flood victims will try to occupy the building in the name of ‘shelter’ and will ruin the structure. Consequently, the department vacated the building and shifted the school to some other place, Qadir said.

The heirs of Akbar Shaikh, including his son Qadir and his families, are still living in the building which has become shabby and needs immediate repair. However, the owners cannot bear the cost of its renovation due to their financial constraints. They want it to be repaired and conserved by the department responsible for its preservation as heritage.

The building holds a reasonable accommodation while expensive Sagwan wood was used in making of all the doors, windows including fittings and main electricity board of the rooms. According to a notification No-OSD-/CHC/CTS&YAD/1/98, date, 8-08-1998, issued by Sindh’s Cultural Department, had declared 1,203 building in Shikarpur as national heritage.

In 1998, UNESCO had declared 1,203 buildings of Shikarpur as cultural heritage, but 250 buildings have been demolished, said Prof Dr Anila Naeem of NED University, who has done extensive research on Shikarpur and its historical buildings. Endowment Fund Trust Chairman Abdul Hamid Akhund told this correspondent that his department was trying its level best to preserve the national heritage, but the building owners were not cooperating with the trust to maintain or renovate their buildings. In this regard, the trust had offered assistance to the owner of the building of the Central Bank of India for its renovation and preservation, he said.

Still, “the owner is free to contact trust to protect the building,” he said.

EFT representative Syed Mehdi Shah said that the trust has renovated three ancient places including the Clock Tower, Main Gate at Lakhi Dar, a community well at Bhittai Bazaar and renovation work on fourth building was ongoing. After finalising the ongoing work, the trust would work on other building also, he said.

The civil society members have also demanded from the federal and the Sindh governments to take keen interest in Shikarpur’s heritage and play their role to preserve them for larger interests of the nation.