KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday that some portions of the old and recently restored walls of the Ranikot Fort had collapsed due to several reasons such as heavy rainfall and flash floods.

He urged the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) for Preservation of the Heritage to hold a disaster management conference in the city to study the conditions.

This he said after receiving a report from the EFT that he had sought from Hamid Akhund of the trust. Mr Shah, giving reference of the report, said that some portions of the recently restored walls of the fort had collapsed due to heavy rainfall and flash floods.

He said that those walls were further damaged due to faulty drainage within the structure as the slopes were not properly structured to drain out water, resulting in weakness of the walls.

The EFT report said the walls which collapsed were already vulnerable and could not withstand the onslaught of heavydownpour which was unprecedented in the past 100 years, the report said.

It added that the restored walls, some of which had fallen due to landslides at some places, had been constructed on loose earth.

The CM said that some walls at Mohan Gate had washed away in flash floods. `A few restored walls collapsed due to the settlement of soil, leaving the foundation and joints vulnerable, and resulting in the collapse,` he said.

Mr Akhund told the CM that the foundations of the walls of Ranikot Fort were not deep, and they were standing on the top of cliffs, making them susceptible to heavy downpours and slight movement.

The CM directed Mr Akhund to conduct a survey of the damages and publish its results so that appropriate steps could be taken.

He assured him that the provincial government would extend maximum support to the EFT and he desired all the concerned stakeholders must participate in the venture.

He also wanted the EFT to establish a disaster management cell for heritage monuments as a permanent autonomous body, comprising all the stakeholders.