Nishtar Hall undergoes facelift

Cultural centre will be opened by March end

PESHAWAR: Nishtar Hall, the lone theatre in the city, is undergoing restoration work and will be open to the public by the end of March.

This was said by officials of the directorate of culture during a media briefing held at the hall on Tuesday to discuss development and construction work to boost cultural activities at the venue.

Culture Director Abdul Basit said as Nishtar Hall was the only theatre and cultural centre for people in the city. He added the administration has made efforts to ensure modern facilities are provided at the theatre to make up for this.



The official added Rs39 million has been approved by the Public Works Department (PWD) for renovation of the hall which has a capacity of some 500 people. Basit added it would be open to the public by the end of March.

The official added the renewed focus will be on improving seating arrangements, the sound system and lighting. Dressing rooms will be renovated and new toilets and a cooling system will be put in place.

“Cultural activities will resume at the end this month and it will be a great step for social activities in the city,” Basit said.

Enhancing capacity

Around Rs67 million has been allocated to increase the capacity of the staff. The director added questionable promotions within the culture directorate “had deprived it of a capable workforce.”

“Owing to these issues and the lack of government interest, most of the land, which was owned by the directorate, had been taken over by lawyers and declared a parking lot,” he said.



Apart from construction and repair work at the main hall, the director said work on another building and a smaller hall is also in full swing. At least Rs12.67 million has been allocated for this purpose.

The official added the directorate is also planning on establishing a culture display centre in Islamabad to showcase Pukhtun culture to people from other parts of the country. The venue for the centre has been rented and the whole project will cost Rs29 million, the director added.

State of disarray

The construction of this hall was completed in 1988 and legendary Indian actor Dilip Kumar was part of one of the initial functions held by Fatimid Foundation.

Although it is still known as the cultural centre of the city, the hall is in a dilapidated state and finally authorities seem to have woken up to this reality.

The hall gradually fallen into a state of disarray. During the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the hall was also completely closed for entertainment activities. This had an adverse impact on cultural activities in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2016.