At 79 years, Sukkur’s Ghanta Ghar begs for govt attention

Four clocks at historical landmark stolen 20 years ago, still awaiting replacements

SUKKUR: Ghanta Ghar [clock tower] in Sukkur was helping weary travellers reach their destinations on time since 1937 until 20 years ago when all four of its clocks went missing.

Fast forward to today and the historical landmark still stands tall, begging for the attention of the government officials who have yet to replace the clocks on the tower.



History lesson

According to the plate placed at the base of the tower, Ghanta Ghar was inaugurated by the then Sukkur collector UM Mirchandani in 1937. It was a gift to the residents of Sukkur by a Hindu businessman, Seth Wadho Mal Nebhau Mal Manjhari, who built the tower to mark the silver jubilee of King George V.

Located in the city centre, Ghanta Ghar marked the gateway at which people from other cities and suburbs of Sukkur would gather before entering any of the markets located nearby. The 90-foot-high tower was given its name due to the four clocks that showed time on all four sides.

Until 20 years ago, the clocks would chime at every hour, the sound reverberating throughout the city, especially at night when there was less traffic on the roads.



Commercialisation

In the early 1950s, around eight shops were built around Ghanta Ghar, recalled Muhammad Ahmed, who runs a repair shop for clocks and watches. In fact, Ahmed used to look after the Ghanta Ghar clocks until they were stolen.

As a result of the construction, more businesses were attracted to the area and less attention was paid to repairs and maintenance, he said. The clocks continued to be worn down, he added. Currently, Victoria Market, Mehran Markaz, some hotels and other shopping malls have sprung up in the vicinity.

Change of administration

Nearly 20 years ago, the municipal corporation of Sukkur took over the charge of the clock tower and demolished the shops. They carried out the necessary repairs and renovated the historical monument, besides erecting an iron fence around the tower to avoid encroachments, pointed out a former municipal administrator for Sukkur.

Though the fence served to keep out shopkeepers and vendors, it was not enough to keep the heroin addicts back, the officer recalled. These addicts not only smoked round the clock but also managed to steal all four clocks of the tower, leaving it vacant and silent.

The district administration filed an FIR against the theft but they have hardly made any practical efforts to recover the historical clocks or replace them with new ones.



Old is gold

Sukkur Commissioner Muhammad Abbas Baloch insisted that they are making efforts to restore Ghanta Ghar to its original glory.

The administration has contacted the same company that had installed the original clocks and they were ready to provide new ones, he told The Express Tribune. However, the culture department and some officials affiliated with the department opposed the installation of new clocks. These people wanted the old ones back, he said.

"The clocks were stolen 20 years ago so it is next to impossible to recover them," said Baloch. "Those clocks were like a jewel for the clock tower and it [the tower] needs them back."

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2016.