CM vows to restore historic beauty of city

LAHORE:Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi ordered to provide drones to Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) for monitoring historic buildings and places and to address the issue of encroachments in congested areas.

He passed these instructions during a meeting held at his office about the WCLA here on Tuesday. The CM said that this would help to save historic buildings and places from encroachments.

A report was presented on the restoration of the residence of the architect of Lahore Sir Ganga Ram at Taxali Gate. The CM said that a museum and a Ganga Ram gallery will be established along with shops in Sheikhupuran Bazar in Taxala Gate.

The government will resume the restoration work from where it left off in the previous period, the CM said. Sir Ganga Ram was the architect of modern Lahore and his services cannot be forgotten, he added and vowed to restore the historic beauty of the cultural capital of Pakistan to develop it as a modern tourist hub.

DG WCLA Kamran Lashari briefed the participants that the cultural image of Pakistan has been improved by the restoration of Lahore's historic Delhi Gate and royal passageway. 700 houses and 509 shops have also been restored in the walled city where infrastructural services, rehabilitation of streets, water supply system and underground wiring works have been completed successfully, he claimed.

Meanwhile, "Vekh Lahore, Roshan Galiyan, Yatra and Sufi Night" programs are largely attended by fans and tourists. The historic status of the rear side of the Badshahi Mosque will be restored by relocating the rim market. The world's largest picture wall has been renovated in the Lahore Fort and the renovation of Gali Sajan Singh was promoting street tourism, Lashari added. Similarly, walled city solid waste management system ensured the quality of cleanliness. Bardinanath well, royal kitchen and passageway have been fully restored, DG WCLA briefed the meeting. “From Bhaati Gate to Kurti Hajiullah Bakhsh, 1028 old shops have been restored to historical status. For the restoration of historic buildings and archaeology in Lahore, the World Bank, ADF and other institutions are cooperating fully,” Lashari concluded.

Meanwhile, a differently-abled artist Umer Jaral presented a handmade poster painting to Chief Minister at his office. The CM expressed his compassion and announced the exhibition of Umer Jaral's artworks. Umer Jaral is very special to us, and his passion is admirable, he added. Society should value differently-abled persons like Umer Jaral as the Punjab government is on the path of making them a useful organ of society, he concluded. 33-year-old Umer Jaral, suffering from cerebral palsy, expressed the desire to meet CM through social media.