FAISALABAD: On Friday, 80-year-old Naseem Mai, of Battianwala, visited the shrine of Shah Sadiq Nehang in Qaim Bharwana with the wedding guests of her son, Aleem Ahmed, invoking the saint`s blessing for her son.

Like Mai, several followers of the saint follow the ritual of visiting the shrine on wedding days of their dear ones. After the Friday visit, Mai, however, was dejected.

She has been visiting the shrine for the last five decades, during the period, she says, the condition of the shrine has beendeteriorating.

The shrine of Syed Muhammed Bukhari, popularly known as Shah Sadiq Nehang, is one-anda-half kilometres from Multan Road in Jhang.

The shrine deserves better treatment for up to 6,250 acres have been devoted for it. The land is leased to different tenants against millions of rupees.

Decades ago, when the shrine was in a good shape, it exhibited the beauty of Mughal-era architecture; walls were engraved with calligraphy and artwork while the entrance had blue tiles and calligraphy.

The condition of other graves in the compound is also in a rundown condition. The walls of themosque and gate are a matter of time before they fall.

The shrine had many historic relics like a wooden flour grinder. The roof of the hall the grinder was kept collapsed a couple of months ago. A tussle between the caretakers has halted its construction. Now, the the hall is without the roof.

Exquisite guest houses on left side of the shrine have been locked by the administration for a couple of months.

Mai said dilapidated condition of the shrine, the blue mosque, bara-dari, grinding area, langar khana and guest area was painful. She said the Auqaf Department should have preserved the shrine for it col-lected the handouts and donations collected from the box at the shrine.

Ghazanfar Shah, who introduced himself as the caretaker, said the shrine had been constructed about 300 to 350 years ago. He claimed 8,750 acres were in the name of the shrine.

Untill 1958, he said, his elders were the caretakers before the Auqaf Department stepped in.

He said repair of the shrine did not need any extra funding from the government as the land in the name of the shrine was enough, if spent properly on the shrine.

There are reports that people have encroached the land of the shrine and dozens of shops havebeen constructed on the road leading to the main entrance.

Shehzad Nazir, a shop owner in the main bazaar, said he along with others had set up their shops on the land. He also complained about the negligence of the caretakers and Auqaf officials for not taking care of the shrine.

Another visitor, Ashig Ali, said the guest houses believed to be constructed hundreds of years ago were in the possession of private people.

He suggested that the Punjab Archeology Department take control of the building and preserve it.

The district Auqaf officer chosenottorespond.