LAHORE: Unknown people on Tuesday smeared some of the plaques on Canal Road inscribed with names of underpasses.

So far three of the six newly-installed plaques bearing the names of as many underpasses had been smeared with black paint.

The City District Government of Lahore had recently installed these plaques, naming the underpasses after various personalities who did great services to the country, in particular and the subcontinent in general. During the last week, after getting a summary approved by the chief minister about naming/renaming of as many as 26 underpasses, interchanges, intersections and roads of the city, the CDGL started installing the plaques.

The boards inscribed with the names of Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, Chaakar-i-Azam Rind, Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai, Liaqat Ali Khan, Waris Shah and Faiz Ahmad Faiz were installed at Doctors Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Garden Town/Gulzar, Ferozepur Road, Jail Road and Mall Road underpasses, respectively.

The plaques carrying names of Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, Chaakar-i-Azam Rind and Faiz Ahmad Faiz were spared and only the portions inscribed with names in Urdu were targeted in others.

A hitherto unknown outfit -- Jag Punjabi Jag (Wakeup Punjabis!) – claimed the responsibility for smearing the plaques in an unsigned statement sent to Dawn on Tuesday.

“We reject the CDGL’s decision of naming the city underpasses after non-Punjabi personalities,” the statement said.

It also criticised the Lahore district coordination officer for naming the underpasses after various non-Punjab personalities. The statement also sought naming the underpasses after personalities like Ahmad Khan Kharal, Agha Shorash Kashmiri, Prof Waris Mir, Habib Jalib, Ibn-i-Insha, Saadat Hasan Manto and Ustad Damin.

CDGL Administrator, DCO Noorul Amin Mengal condemned those behind smearing the plaques.

“The committee (Dilkash Lahore Project Committee) which recommended naming/renaming the city spots comprised 32 members, out of which only one was non-Punjabi. And that is me, Noorul Amin Mengal,” the DCO said in a statement.

He said the naming of city roads after various personalities had been recommended by the committee and finally approved by the Punjab government. The CDGL held detailed discussions on the issue through the committee, besides completing legal formalities in this regard, he added.

“This act (smearing) doesn’t seem work of Zinda Dilaan-i-Lahore,” he said.

Mengal said there was no harm in dedicating four or five city spots to the renowned figures belonging to other provinces.

“It will help Punjab earn goodwill and dilute the impression of exploitation of smaller provinces by Punjab or Punjabis.

Whosoever is doing this is badly harming Punjab and the federation,” he added.

Talking to Dawn, Dilkash Lahore committee member and Lahore Conservation Society’s information secretary Prof Ajaz Anwar condemned those behind the move.

“I think those who did this have smeared their own faces. Their act shows that they are coward and nothing more than this,” he deplored. He said since the Punjabis were known for being large-hearted, they always welcomed the people from other provinces and countries. He said the culprits behind this act must be traced and punished accordingly.