Pervez Khattak inaugurates Heritage Trail Project

PESHAWAR: The Heritage Trail Project of Directorate of Archaeology of Museums was inaugurated after almost two months delay putting an end to the sufferings of residents and shopkeepers.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was the chief guest and inaugurated the project.

He had inaugurated the development work on the Rs315 million project on December 7, last year. And it was supposed to be completed by April 7 last.

The project area starts from the 118-year-old Ghanta Ghar (Cunningham Clock Tower), and passes through Bazaar-e-Kalaan and Mohallah Sethian and ends at Gor Khatri Archaeological Complex.

It had four major components - to give historical touch to the new buildings in the old quarters of the city by making the façades look like old historical ones, to take the electricity and telephone cables underground and construct underground drains, renovate and pave the streets in the aforementioned localities and display flowers to attract tourists.

The fronts of around 80 buildings and shops were given a historical touch to make these structures look like centuries-old.

The project had to be executed in 120 days, but it instead executed in six months. There are reports that the cost of the project was also swelled to Rs510 million from the initial Rs315 million, raising many eye-brows.

The delay in timely completion of the project had become a headache for the residents and shopkeepers, as it affected the business activities in the surroundings of Ghanta Ghar, Bazaar-e-Kalaan and the adjacent New Muslim Meena Bazaar severely.

Around 413 shops were affected by the project. The government had paid Rs10,000 compensation per month to each shopkeeper, which the shopkeepers termed insufficient. The shopkeepers had also staged protests over the delay in the completion of the project as well.

Nawazuddin, a research officer at the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, alleged the hurdles created by the office-bearers of various markets associations caused delay in the trimly completion of the project. He rejected the media reports of increase in funds allocated for the project. He said the project was completed and opened to public.

The research officer said it was a pilot project and they were planning to extend the project in other localities in the area as well. The local government representatives and officials were present on the occasion as well.