WCLA yet to get control of heritage buildings

LAHORE
OUT of the 21 high architectural value buildings, Walled City of Lahore Authority possesses only three buildings while the rest of the buildings are still under the possession of different government departments and private individuals.
Sources in the WCLA said the authority had taken up the issue at all levels but still in vain as none of the government departments was ready to leave possession of the building(s) while private individuals demanded huge money to vacate or sell the premises they were living in.
So far WCLA got physical and administrative possession and ownership of all the historical gates of the provincial capital, Lahore Fort and Shahi Hamam. Sources said the pending high architectural value buildings, which the authority immediately wanted to be in its physical and administrative control comprised over Wazir Khan Mosque, Minar-e-Pakistan, Circular Garden, Iqbal Park/ Minto Park, Baoli Bagh, Sonehri Mosque, Marium Zamani Mosque, Badshahi Mosque, Samadhi of Raja Ranjeet Singh, Choona Mandi Haveli, Haveli Dhiyan Singh, Victoria High School/Haveli Nau Nihal Singh, Bangla Ayub Shah, Masjid Saleh Kamboh, Tomb of Malik of Ayaz, Pani Wala Talab, Circular Road, Seetla Mandar at Matti Chowk and Atta Wala Mandar inside Lohari Gate.
Sources said WCLA had already declared some 365 buildings, including over a dozen Havelies (mansions), mosques, temples and other premises as high architectural heritage properties and stopped owners of these buildings to demolish or make any kind of physical changes in these structures.
The WCLA officials said Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi was constructed opposite the Lahore Fort by his son Kharak Singh and this building was completed in 1848. The building is a true amalgamation of Muslim and Hindu styles of construction. Class mosaic (plain glass work) has been done on the ceilings while interior of the Samadhi chamber is also decorated with frescoes depicting mostly the stories of the Sikh Gurus, officials maintained.
They said the haveli of Nau Nihal Singh was also one of the most magnificent buildings of the city and had been constructed in the Sikh era by Nau Nihal Singh, son of Maharaja Kharak Singh as his personal house. A number of halls, balconies and spacious chambers with roofs decorated with paintings, mirrors and gold are the main characteristics of this building. Walls are also ornamented with glasses and flower paintings, the officials said. They said Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque) is situated near Shah Alam mosque. It was also known as Taliya Masjid and Nawab Syed Bhikari Khan constructed this masterpiece in 1753. This beautiful mosque has golden domes and four minarets. They said Sheetla Mandir was situated at the left side of Circular Road on the way to Lohari Gate from Shah Alami Gate of Lahore and was partially demolished after the Babri Mosque incident.
Sources maintained that DG WCLA Kamran Lashari wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary Punjab on October 21, 2013 asking the government to immediately intervene for getting possession of four havelies, including Lal Haveli (inside Lohari Gate), Haveli Raja Dhiyan Singh (inside Texali Gate), Noori Haveli (inside Lohari Gate) and Haveli Dina Nath (inside Delhi Gate).
Tanya Qureshi, a senior WCLA official said the authority was in correspondence with all the departments concerned to get possession of these premises. She said the authority would protect, conserve, and renovate all high architectural value buildings at all costs.