Call to preserve history by salvaging heritage buildings

There are around 500 heritage buildings in the city which are on the verge of collapse and their disappearance into oblivion will wipe away our historical heritage forever.

This was the consensus among speakers at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Tuesday afternoon. Architect and MPA Samar Ali Khan, who was one of the three people who addressed the press conference, alleged that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) declared buildings dangerous and uninhabitable and the builders rushed in to offer a price and reap a bonanza by constructing apartments and other buildings. This, he said, was a “conspiracy”.

He sought the intervention of the director of archeology and Culture to intervene and help build the resolve to preserve our architectural heritage. History, he said, was preserved through architectural treasures and referred to the Karachi Press Club building, saying that the vintage architecture of the building was the identity of the journalist community of Karachi.

Architect Yasmeen Lari, [resident, Heritage Foundation of Pakistan (HFP), referred to a vintage building, the Calcutta House, in Ranchore Lines, and said that even though part of the building had been demolished and the families inhabiting it asked to move to safer places, it was still found to be repairable and the process would cost something like Rs2.5 million to 3 million. She said the foundation had carried out a survey and found that the walls were robust and there were just some minor cracks.

She said additions on the roof were a violation and a threat to the structure. These threats, she said, could be removed by undertaking speedy renovation. Lari said that over 1,000 buildings were notified and around 50 per cent of them were under threat owing to new developments and approvals by the Sindh Heritage Advisory Committee. She recommended these steps to tackle the situation:

— The government must ensure that notified buildings are not allowed to be demolished for want of funding or professional evaluation or advice.

— Committee members who have been on the committee for decades and were now freely doling out permission for demolition must be replaced.

— No private member be allowed to be on the committee for more than two years and must not be allowed for more than two terms.

— Any construction on the site of the notified buildings should carry the same Floor Area Ratio (FAR) as the original notified heritage building. This would ensure the low-rise character of the city of old Karachi and would also ensure that there is no extra load on the already overloaded infrastructure, such as roads, water supply and the sewage system.

— Media should periodically notify the buildings under threat. The Heritage Foundation will provide photographs and details of these buildings on a regular basis.

— The top priority is to make endangered buildings safe and prevent their collapse, for which the government institutions and other related bodies must come forward.

Journalist and social activist Shahnaz Ramzi underlined the dire need for a vigilance committee. She regretted that even the government departments were not aware of developments. “We need to create awareness and to that end we need a watchdog body,” she said.