WCLA starts beautification of Lahore Fort

LAHORE
SOON after taking administrative control of the Lahore Fort from the Archaeology Department, the Walled City Lahore Authority (WCLA) has started the beautification of the Lahore Fort and as a first step its historic stairs, which were ignored from years, had been cleaned.
The stairs, which are situated on the eastern side of the Lahore Fort facing Masti Gate and Rim Market, were ignored by the previous management due to which they were covered by wild grass and plants and lost their original look.
Sources said the WCLA had requested the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) to help them in cleaning of the stairs. Following the request, the PHA deputed around 50 gardeners to clear the wild plants and grass from the stairs besides making a new landscaping.
“These stairs were used as an open air theatre during the British rule from where they would see the march past, parades and processions,” said Tanya Qureshi, a senior official of the WCLA, while talking with The News.
Following the ignorance of the authorities, visitors of Rim Market and other nearby areas as well as locals were using these stairs as open public toilets. One can also find there drug addicts lying on these stairs and injecting drugs. “We have planned to use stairs for different festivals and ceremonies in future,” Tanya said adding the task would be completed within this week and later these stairs would be maintained in a proper and professional manner. “At present we have started with the outer wall of the Lahore Fort. We will be moving inside soon to uplift the lawns. We are planning to plant traditional plants inside the Lahore fort which were originally planted there,” Tanya revealed.
At present there is a lot to be improved and hopefully along with gardens and greenery we will move on to the restoration work as well. Dead plants and dull grass at world heritage site were a shame for the monument.
DG WCLA Kamran Lashari said the Lahore Fort, a world heritage site, needed a lot of improvement in terms of horticulture and plantation.
This is a first move from the WCLA for maintaining the monument. It is a matter of concern and realisation to upkeep our heritage and I am happy that the PHA has extended its help and support for this task. Director Marketing WCLA Asif Zaheer said this was our first step to improve the condition of our heritage. There is yet a lot to be done. “We will soon be revamping all the greenery with new plantation and uplift the grassy lawns,” he revealed.
He added that this type of beautification was must to attract tourists. “We did not have sufficient staff for gardening at the Lahore Fort.
For the same we took help from the Parks and Horticulture Authority who had supported us in achieving our tasks,” he concluded. Local residents appreciated the restoration of stairs and said a large number of complaints were lodged with the police, Fort management and other concerned regarding presence of criminal elements and drug addicts on these stairs but no one took those complaints seriously.