City’s heritage left to the mercy of none

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

By Afnan Khan Lodhi

LAHORE: The government has left several historic monuments in and around the Walled City to the mercy of massive pollution, vibration caused by heavy-duty vehicles on bus stands, encroachments and a dense population.

The monuments, including Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Begum Shahi Mosque, Wazir Khan Mosque, Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Minar-e-Pakistan and many others, have been facing decay and damage at the hands of the aforementioned factors for decades, yet the government and departments concerned have not taken any solid measures to address these issues.

The presence of the Badami Bagh bus stand remains the biggest threat to these monuments because massive vibration caused by the mobility of tens of thousands of vehicles to and from the area causes serious damage to the structure of nearby buildings nearby.

Practical measures: The district and Punjab governments had promised many a times in the past to remove the Lorry Adda bus strand from the location after repeated warnings by experts and artists, however, no practical steps have yet been taken in this regard.

The phenomenon even caused the turret of Jahangir’s northern quadrangle in Lahore Fort to collapse in 2007. The government was severely criticised for its negligence in preserving the historic site and the authorities made numerous promises to remove the bus stand soon, as experts termed its proximity to the bus station one of the key reasons behind the fall of the centuries-old structure.

The northeastern turret of Jahangir’s quadrangle at the Lahore Fort collapsed on September 24, 2007 due to heavy monsoon showers. The incident even triggered a blame game between the Punjab and federal archaeology departments, as both remained guardians of the fort during various eras, and accused each other of using substandard materials in repairing the quadrangle previously.

Sources in the district government told Daily Times that the government had no such plan even for the upcoming year and there were no funds allocated in this budget for the relocation of the bus stand from the area.

A dense population in the area, especially running small-scale factories around the historic monuments, is another threat to the precious sites and the government has not taken any action against encroachments in the Walled City despite the Supreme Court orders issued on February 9, 2007.

Collapse: Renowned art historian Prof Dr Ejaz Anwar told Daily Times that the monuments present alongside the bus stand could collapse anytime due to the strong vibration caused by the vehicles moving around the structures, and another collapse or damage incident might just be around the corner if the threat was not addressed in time.

He said Lahore belonged to an ancient civilization and the significance of its areas and of the entire city were at par with other ancient cities such as Rome, Paris and London, yet the city has been totally neglected by the government throughout history.

Dr Ejaz added that encroachments and pollution around the structures were ruining the historic monuments in the city, but the authorities were not doing anything to eliminate such threats. He said that the presence of the Lorry Adda bus stand and numerous other encroachments made Lahore one of the most polluted and ill-preserved cities in the world. He said that no steps had been taken to stop encroachers from throwing garbage, toxic waste and various chemicals around the monuments and they were destroying the precious heritage right in front of the government’s eyes.

Dr Ejaz said that vibration remained the key reason behind the destruction of a quadrangle situated besides the bus stand in 2007, but the authorities had learnt no lesson from the incident, and the government departments still provided the encroachers with electricity, gas and water connections instead of forcing them out. However, Lahore District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta told Daily Times that it was not possible for the government to remove the Lorry Adda bus stand from its current location at the moment.

Resources: He said that the government was aware of the damage caused by the stand to the monuments, but it lacked resources to immediately remove the area. He said that the government had conducted a number of anti-encroachment operations in the past and had managed to remove several illegal structures, especially those present within 200 feet of the historic places.