LAHORE, Oct 10: While the City District Government of Lahore is planning to initiate work for the restoration and preservation of historical structures inside the Walled City, over a dozen residents of a building near Paniwala Talab reoccupied it on Friday -- 24 hours or so after their evacuation following the structure was declared dangerous.

“We have been asked to vacate the building without giving any alternate place. Where would we go?” Ilyas, one of the evacuated residents, told this reporter in the evening.

He said a neighbour called Rescue 1122 late on Wednesday night to inform that the building had developed cracks and might collapse any time. Rescue teams reached there at around 2:30am and started evacuating people.

Some 25 to 30 people, including women and children, were evacuated till 5am and shifted to a nearby school. Later, the building was sealed by the City District Government of Lahore (CDGL) and area police officials. “A few of the evacuated people moved to neighbours and their relatives, but for how long you can live in someone else’s place? There are hundreds of families living in such buildings in the neighbourhood; why we have been made homeless? We have no option but to return,” maintained Ilyas who was unaware that the CDGL had inked an agreement with the Asian Development Bank for sustainable development of the Walled City.

District Coordination Officer Sajjad Ahmad Bhutta made an announcement regarding the agreement at a meting on Friday.

Under the agreement, work would be initiated on scientific basis to restore the Walled City to its original structure by taking steps like demolishing encroachments blocking ways to the historical buildings. Projects for the provision of health, education, portable water, sewerage system would also be completed under the agreement.

Meanwhile, an official of Ravi Town Administration told this reporter that assistance of the provincial and the city district government had been sought to deal with the problem of 3,331 dangerous and dilapidated buildings in the Walled City, but to no avail.

“The town administration is unable to deal with the problem on its own because owners and occupants of these buildings are neither interested in vacating them nor are willing to get them repaired,” said the official who wished not to be named. Maximum number of dangerous buildings was located in Azam Cloth Market, followed by Lohari, Bhati, Yakki, Mori, Kashmiri, Sheranwala, Taxali, Masti and Roshnai gates, Said Mitha Bazaar, Paniwala Talab, Dabbi Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Chaitram Road, Kanari Bazaar, Koucha Shahwali, Chouna Mandi and Bazaar Sada Karan.