Almost ten years ago the Aga Khan Trust for Culture completed the Gali Surjan Singh restoration ‘demonstration’ project of 13 old dilapidated houses in a lane off Delhi Gate. It remains, still, an amazing display of what is possible within the old walled city.

The direct result of this ‘demonstration’ project was that in 2012 the Punjab Assembly passed the ‘Walled City of Lahore Act 2012’ with the express purpose to conserving and restoring the old walled city to its former glory. This law set up the Walled City of Lahore Authority, with the declared objective of “conserving and re-developing” the dilapidated houses and historic monuments of the old city. The spin-off was imagined in the form of a rush of tourists, as well as improving the economic condition of its residents, who increasingly were leaving their traditional abodes. This also meant that the traditions of the old city were weakening as new foreign immigrants moved in, backed as they are by traders who have transgressed their legal bound of 15 per cent of the city housing to almost 56 per cent … and increasing by the hour.

Today we see that an influx of Afghan refugees, starting from the Russian invasion to the Taliban takeover to the American invasion to the second Taliban takeover, has constantly and silently moved into the walled city. On the average where the old family average of seven persons inhabited each house, today seven Afghan families live, one in each room.

An official survey tells us that today the ethnic divide is 64pc Afghans to 36pc all others. These Afghans are all cheap labour for the illegal trading markets, with increasingly them moving to economically well-off areas setting up their own businesses. It surely is to their credit and one does not grudge them their success.

But the problem is that the rush of immigrants has led to the total population of the walled city almost doubling to almost 300,000-plus. Add to this the transport reality of Lahore which has two motorcycles for every house of seven persons. For the old walled city it means a crazy rush of motorcyclists blocking narrow lanes and outer roads. Culturally, this has meant that these motorcyclists have forced a ban of Lahore’s traditional Basant festival. Their extreme religious beliefs have seriously dented the open-minded liberal views that the old residents were famous for.

But the sociology of the old walled city has never been the concern of our ruling politicians and bureaucrats. They are into ‘performance’ that can be seen, which are there in the shape of famous historic monuments. The Act of 2012 certainly does want that historic monuments be restored, but of far greater importance are the people and their dilapidated houses, which in their own right have historic architectural importance. For this very reason the ‘demonstration project’ which we know as Gali Surjan Singh showed just how the life of 13 families improved as their houses were restored to modern standards keeping the old architecture intact. It is a beautiful combination.

But then of late we have seen that to ‘show off’ this one small ‘gali’ a series of gaudy additions have been made. If anything this shows that they are trying to build on past starting points. With the creation of the 2012 Act, the first major restoration plan was to conserve and rebuild the ‘Royal Trail’ starting from Delhi Gate right up to the Lahore Fort. It is an excellent ongoing project to say the least. Along the way we have the Wazir Khan’s ‘Shahi Hammam’ and then on to the mosque of Wazir Khan, probably the most beautiful in the city. The front courtyard has been cleared and work on its conservation and restoration continues.

This project will remain an ongoing one for quite a few years yet. The authority was then burdened with looking after the Lahore Fort after the Archaeology Department failed miserably. One must thank the expertise of the AKTC, which has seen an impressive array of monuments being restored, with the Naulakha and the Wall Picture being among the finest in the world. That effort needs to go on.

But then Chapter 4, sub-section 15 of the Act states that a detailed ‘Master Conservation and Re-Development Plan for the Walled City’ be prepared to fulfil the requirements of the 2012 Act. With the help and assistance of some of the world’s finest conservers and architects this ‘Master Plan’ was completed in 2015 and presented to the WCLA. It has been six years now and the Punjab government has still not notified it for implementation. In simple governing parlance this is criminal.

The only move forward was a meeting last week to pick and choose one gateway, namely Bhati Gate, for restoration, while other religious shrines all over Punjab were selected for restoration. The meeting even stretched its limit to head into Balochistan, probably a reflection of the origins of a few members at the meeting.

The most important project in the Master Plan is the restoration, conservation and development of the Bhati Gate to Taxali restoration, with special emphasis on Bazaar Hakeeman and beyond. If this is managed to the standard that we have seen of Gali Surjan Singh, then Lahore surely will be a ‘tourist haven’. What a delight it will be if residential hotels emerge so that tourists can stay there to enjoy walking through the city lanes and visiting some amazing historic sites, including the Lahore Fort, and eateries with a story to tell.

To achieve such excellence a number of negative factors will have to be tackled. For example the trading classes will have to be stopped from destroying old historic houses and building ugly concrete plazas with dangerous chemicals stored away. It is sad still to see old ‘havelis’ like the one opposite a famous ‘khatai’ shop inside Mochi Gate with evil smells of the leather industry. In Shahalami Bazaar and all its bye-lanes, similar factories exist. The traders have strong political connections and conservation is condemned there.

There was once a plan to move all the traders to across the river Ravi in a new walled city, with a truck stand nearby. No one in the government knows about it, or dares to know about it. But if implemented as stated in the Act of 2012, it would be a major improvement in the lives of the poor living inside the walled city.

Now that the WCLA has the legal and executive power to dictate what the Act of 2012 states, they can undertake just two simple small steps. The first is to clear all encroachments outside legally set-up shops, so that people can at least walk safely. To ban motorcycles inside the walled city would be a step in the right direction, but given current political and social realities it is not possible. If the WCLA is incapable of clearing encroachments, then at least they should try their hand with our second suggested step.

It will be an immense contribution to the health of the old city if the number of people living in a house, depending on area covered, are restricted. Last week as I walked through a lane deep inside Lohari Gate, I was told about a small two-marla house has 43 persons living there. Which country in the world would ever allow such living conditions to exist?

One assumes the Punjab government is incapable of notifying the Master Plan that was finalised six years ago. Why is this so? We all know the answer. So let’s remain silent spectators.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2021