Buzdar wants to replicate WCLA to other historic cities of Punjab

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday visited Lahore Fort and reviewed the restoration project of Barood Khana. Director General Walled City of Lahore Authority Kamran Lashari briefed the chief minister about the project.

The chief minister appreciated the project of revamping of Barood Khana. A meeting was held under the chair of the chief minister in Barood Khana, which decided to take further initiatives in the light of rules and regulations framed by the judiciary for establishing a restaurant in the royal kitchen. The chief minister directed that the next strategy for setting up of restaurant in the royal kitchen would be devised according to the guidelines provided by the judiciary, heritage board, and UNICO.

Usman Buzdar also approved the regularisation of contract employees of WCLA. The meeting decided to expand the scope of WCLA to the whole of the province and final approval would be given by Punjab Cabinet.

The meeting also approved 250 new posts for WCLA and 50 percent allowance for the regular employees of the authority and summary would be sent to the finance department. The meeting also considered giving engineering and technical allowance to the engineers working in WCLA and a committee constituted under the supervision of Additional Chief Secretary will present its final recommendations within 15 days. Proposal of up-gradation of the post of Tour Guide from grade-7 to grade-12 was approved in the meeting. The meeting also approved notifying the committees to settle the matters of Walled City affectees.

A committee was constituted under the supervision of Law Minister Raja Basharat, comprising all the stakeholders, for reviewing the possibility of shifting the rim market to some other place. The committee will present its recommendations with the timeline regarding the shifting of the rim market to another place and other allied matters within one month. Proposal of the relocation of the Archaeology Department’s Shahdara Complex to WCLA was also considered.

Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that the scope of WCLA would be expanded to every city of the province and their historical buildings would be restored to their original form which would increase the beautification of cities besides promoting tourism. Many cities of Punjab, including Lahore, are of historic values and can play a vital role in promoting tourism, he added. The PTI government is working for the development of the tourism sector on strong footings. The project of restoration of Mir Chakar Azam Rind’s tomb in Okara has been started. Walled City of Lahore Authority DG Kamran Lashari gave the briefing to the meeting regarding measures taken for the restoration of the walled city in its actual form as well as the performance of the authority.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken notice of kite-flying incidents in Faisalabad and sought a report from Commissioner and RPO Faisalabad.