KARACHI: CDGK carrying out unauthorised repairs at Khalikdina Hall
It is worth noting that nobody, including the owner, can carry out any restoration, repair or construction work to any building protected under the said act, which prescribes long prison terms and the imposition of heavy fines for violators.
Well-placed sources said that it was mandatory to obtain permission or a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs, headed by the Sindh chief secretary, before carrying out any such activity at these protected sites.
They said that a portion of the wooden ceiling on the right side of the veranda of the hall was infested with termites and had collapsed a few weeks ago. After the incident, they said, the city nazim paid several visits to the site and instructed the relevant contractor to expedite the pace of work and also directed the executive district officer (works), Amanullah Chachar, to ensure completion of the work on time.
Talking to Dawn, District Coordination Officer Javed Hanif said that work on the Khalikdina Hall was in full swing and would be completed soon.
When asked whether or not permission from the relevant department had been sought, he was not sure about it and referred the query to EDO (works) Amanullah Chachar.
However, he was of the view that since the city government was fully aware of all the formalities, it was unlikely that it could carry out any illegal activity on a protected site.
Interestingly, when this writer requested Mr Chachar to clarify the CDGK’s position in this regard, it emerged that the official had no idea about seeking any NOC from the Sindh Culture Department to carry out work on any of the CDGK’s buildings.
He said that he had been directed to complete the job at the earliest. Mr Chachar, however, did not clarify whether the orders he had received were from the city nazim or the DCO.
Meanwhile, responding to Dawn’s queries, the Karachi Building Control Authority’s Controller of Buildings in Saddar Town, Zahid Naeem, said that the KBCA had written a letter to the city government informing it about the status of the work that it was carrying out at the historical building – protected under the law – without mandatory permission.
The letter on the subject of “Repair/renovation of Khalikdina Hall, M.A. Jinnah Road” says: “It is observed during the inspection that renovation work is being carried out on the subject building. Roof tiles have been dismantled; wooden frames are being changed/altered in a veranda on the right side.
“Please appreciate that this building is declared heritage by the culture and tourism department, government of Sindh. No such activity can be carried out in heritage declared buildings without an NOC from the Advisory Committee, Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, government of Sindh.
“It is requested that necessary exercise may be completed and an NOC as mentioned above may be obtained before commencing further work.”
Selective enforcement
According to sources, there are as many as 600 private and government buildings declared protected under the act and if anyone, particularly a common citizen, tries to carry out any repair work, the KBCA or the Sindh Culture Department always initiate punitive action without delay. But, they added, this was not the case when the violators of the law happened to be government departments or organisations.
The sources, citing a few examples, said that the Rangers carried out illegal construction at their temporary headquarters in Jinnah Courts, the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) carried out illegal construction at the Hindu Gymkhana, the army demolished a protected building at Lucky Star, the cantonment board demolished its building opposite the Arts Council, etc.
Located at the centre of the old town and on one of the busiest thoroughfares of the city, the Khalikdina Hall is one of few pre-partition colonial style structures that were constructed by Muslim philanthropists to permit easy access to the residents of the nearby quarters.
Witness to history
Constructed with a generous donation of Rs18,000 from Ghulam Hoosain Khalikdina in the first decade of the 20th century, the building assumed historical significance as the venue of an important event of the freedom movement when, during the Khilafat Conference, held between July 8 and 10, 1921 in the city, a resolution was passed declaring it “unlawful for any faithful to serve from today in the (British) army or help or acquiesce in their recruitment … If the British government, directly or indirectly, openly or secretly, fights the Angora government (Turkish National Government), the Muslims of India will start civil disobedience.”
Besides, the British government also tried the famous brothers, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali, at the Khalikdina Hall in the ‘Trial of Sedition’ owing to which the hall became known throughout the subcontinent.
Sources said that a few years ago, when the ceiling of the hall had collapsed and massive restoration work was undertaken, the historical teak-wood stage on which the ‘Trial of Sedition’ was held went missing.
Even a marble plaque on which the history of the hall is written has been thrown carelessly into the garbage.