KARACHI: Ranikot, undoubtedly the Great Wall of Sindh with a circumference of about 26 kilometres which must have withstood numerous attacks and fought off many adversaries since it came into being about three centuries ago, now appears defenceless against its new adversary, water, says a report released by the Endowment Fund Trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh.

The report says the condition of the massive fort structure believed by some experts to be built around the 17th century is worsening within each passing year due to collapse of the poorly bonded cladding of its fortification and bastions caused by infiltration of rainwater through the damaged lime concrete top.

The Sindh culture department had launched a restoration project for the fort in the 1990s but left it halfway after criticism over the use of cement mortar in place of lime concrete, says the report.

The deterioration of cladding could bring about disappearance of the fortification and bastions in the absence of large-scale repairs, warns the report.

The report suggests action plans to save the historical monument.

The short-term action plan must address unstable cladding of the fortification and bastions by making the top of fortification and bastions waterproof and edging of the sides of endangered sections of the cladding in appropriate manner while the long-term action plan may provide for restoration of the collapsed portions of the cladding, says the report.