Bhatti Gate trail documentation begins

LAHORE
To restore and conserve its original beauty, the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has started documentation of Bhatti Gate trail, which starts from Bhatti Gate and ends at Fort Road Food Street.
The WCLA officials said groundwork on the trail will start soon and so far the conservation and planning department of WCLA has completed the documentation which includes the elevations and designs of all the buildings and socio-economic survey. Detailed land use and geographical information system has also been developed and is being re-verified by the department.
The trail will be restored by uplifting the façade and improving the infrastructure services which includes underground of electricity and improvement of water systems. It will be turned into a tourist trail after restoration, officials said, adding the PC-2 for Bhatti Gate Trail has already been sent to local government for submission to Planning and Development Department.
WCLA archaeology experts said Bhatti Gate is on the southern side of the Walled City and it was rebuilt in British period. It was named after the Bhatis, an ancient Rajput tribe, who lived in the area. Bhatti Gate was once known as Chelsea of Lahore, as it was the hub of literary and influential people, they added.
Major buildings and places of interests coming in this trail include Bhatti Gate, Allama Iqbal House, Historic Houses Streets, Qamar Manzil, Faqir Khana Museum, Naqsh Art Gallery, Chowk Heera Mandi, Shekhupurian Bazaar, Buggies and Doli Walay and Fort Road Food Street. Besides these buildings and known places, the area has some ancient bazaars which are Bhatti Gate Bazaar, Bazaar-e-Hakeeman, Tehsil Bazaar, Bazaar Judge Muhammad Latif, Tibbi Gali, Shekhupurian Bazaar, Neecha Chaitraam and Fort Road Bazaar.
The WCLA officials said a total 182 buildings were situated on this trail out of which seven were already declared high value architecture structures, 17 are medium value architecture structures and 158 are low value architecture structures.
WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said: “Bhatti Gate area is of immense importance when we talk about the Walled City of Lahore. It needs to be restored urgently before it deteriorates”. He said the WCLA team is working on the documentation and it will be completed very soon. “This will probably be the most visited tourist trail because of the historical buildings like Allama Iqbal House, Haveli Wajid Ali, Faqir Khana Museum, Naqsh Art Gallery and others,” he claimed.
WCLA Director Conservation Najmus Saqib said the team is working on the documentation and designs of the trail. “It is a beautiful trail and we will restore it to its original glory. As soon as the PC-2 is approved by the government we will start working on the PC-1,” he conclude