IWPR, 12 March 2014
"In the Shahi Qala area of Surkhrod district [in Nangrahar province,] eastern Afghanistan, half-a-dozen round towers lie scattered at intervals of a few hundred metres. They are Buddhist stupas" built when the area belonged to the Gandhara kingdom, writes the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. But they are crumbling, "as officials say they lack the resources to preserve them" and have looked for donors in vain, while residents admit that they have done illegal digging there, on the search for gold and other artefacts.
"Lal Pacha Azmun, a lecturer in literature at Kabul university, broke down in tears as he described the state of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. 'It is unfortunate that historic buildings and relics in Nangarhar haven’t yet been recorded by cultural officials,' he said. … 'If this neglect continues, the names of historical treasures will be erased from the memories of future generations. No one will speak of the Hadda in Nangarhar. These things will exist only in books.'
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
Tags:
Culture
Governance
heritage
Nangrahar
