RAHIM YAR KHAN: The famous Jinnah Hall burnt down by protesters after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto seven years ago is still in a shambles.

It was inaugurated in 1951 by the then state minister for food and agriculture Pirzada Abdul Sattar in the centre of the Town Hall for community-based public functions.

Later, when local bodies institutions started functioning, it was used by the district council (zila council) during different regimes as well as the public on national events.

In 1994, it was renovated by district nazim of the time, former governor Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mehmood. Jinnah Hall could house 300 people and had beautiful luxurious chairs with a wooden, decorated stage.

On Dec 27, 2007 after the assassination of Benazir when protesters set the Jinnah Hall on fire, not only was it completely burnt, but important records, including properties of a thousand citizens, turned to ashes. The fire damaged the steel structure of its roof, which developed holes in it.

At the front of the hall is the clock tower, an identity of the Town Hall whose clock is out of order and silent for the last few years.

Ustad Bashir Mughal, an elderly citizen, said the Jinnah Hall was the centre for local cultural ceremonies, but after it was set on fire there was no other place for such activities. He said there was a need to reconstruct the hall.

Chaudhry Bashir Amanat, a senior journalist, said if local government institutions were functional, chances of the hall’s reconstruction would have been brighter.

He suggested that along with its reconstruction, a separate auditorium also be built on the upper floor for public activities. He demanded the clock of the Town Hall also be fixed immediately.

Tehsil Municipal Officer Sardar Naseer said the district government was looking after all the matters of the Jinnah Hall and it was also functioning as the zila council assembly hall. He said in an official meeting he had requested the high-ups regarding reconstruction of the Jinnah Hall, but lack of funds was the main hurdle.

Another Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) official, on the condition of anonymity, said the beauty of the Town Hall was affected after the National Database and Registration Authority, the executive district officer (community development), district officers (livestock) and (enterprise) established their offices in its premises and its lawns and the roads turned into parking stands.

District Coordination Officer Nabeel Javed said the Jinnah Hall was the property of the TMA but the demands of senior citizens were legal and the district government would look into the matter on priority.

He said the district government was also planning to install new machinery in the clock tower. Jogging tracks and grassy lawns of the Town Hall would also be maintained and given a new look soon, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2014