After the Multan Clock Tower Restoration and beautification work was completed, the Punjab government officially reopened the historic Multan Clock Tower.
It was open to the people in a ceremony at which South Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Fawad Hashim Rabbani, US Consul General Stetson Sanders, Public Diplomacy Officer Raquel King Nicudemus, and Multan Commissioner Amir Kareem Khan were present.
The clock tower has finally been refurbished after months of labor to portray its initial design and cultural significance.
Ceremony to Celebrate Multan Clock Tower Restoration
According to the officials, the Multan Clock Tower Restoration was aimed at restoring the building, enhancing its beauty and maintaining the historical meaning.
The US government sponsored the project through its Cultural Heritage Preservation Program and technical assistance was offered by the private organisation THAAP.
The intention was to preserve the original appearance of the tower but to make it safer and more appealing to the visitors.
US Support of Multan Clock Tower Restoration
Fawad Hashim Rabbani who spoke at the occasion referred to the clock tower as a significant heritage symbol of South Punjab. He also gave credit to the US government for its support and emphasized the importance of having the same projects to preserve other historic sites in the area.
According to US Consul General Stetson Sanders, it took approximately a year to restore the Multan Clock Tower and the price of the restoration was almost 200 thousand dollars.
He further revealed that the project assisted in training 150 craftsmen on apprenticeship programs; they were provided with practical skills in the restoration.
Protection Activities in Pakistan
Sanders also described how the US government has assisted in the restoration of 35 historic sites in Pakistan with a cumulative expenditure of approximately 8.4 million dollars on a variety of cultural preservation programs.
These are meant to save the rich heritage of Pakistan and also to provide learning and employment opportunities to the local workers.
