Conserving heritage: 120-year-old No. 3/19 Sarai Quarters saved
Antiquities dept ordered to repair the building and reuse it for education.
KARACHI:
The 120-year-old building at No. 3/19 Sarai Quarters was saved from demolition on Wednesday after judges turned down its owner’s petition and ordered the government to have it repaired.
The building’s owner Nafisa Begum had filed the petition saying she wanted to tear the building down as it was dangerous. She cited the secretary education, the culture and tourism secretary, the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) chief controller and the EDO Education.
She maintained that since 1997, two nationalised schools, the Government City Boys Secondary School and the City Oriental Night School, have been moved and students accommodated elsewhere. The building was declared protected heritage on September 7, 1995.
During the hearing, the additional advocate-general and the law EDO opposed the demolition of the preserved site. They contended that the heritage and antiquities departments will restore the structure and use it for education as it was being used before.
Justices Gulzar Ahmed and Imam Bux Baloch agreed to the proposal and disposed of the petition. The bench noted that the antiquities department has an endowment fund of Rs1 billion which should be used for the repairs. It also pointed out that a management board has been constituted since August 2008 and it should hold a meeting within four weeks to take up the restoration.
The bench said it expected a firm decision by the board and its implementation so that “no unreasonable delay occurs”.
The bench also directed that copies of the order passed be sent to the Sindh chief secretary and the Sindh advocate-general for information and compliance.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2011.
The 120-year-old building at No. 3/19 Sarai Quarters was saved from demolition on Wednesday after judges turned down its owner’s petition and ordered the government to have it repaired.
The building’s owner Nafisa Begum had filed the petition saying she wanted to tear the building down as it was dangerous. She cited the secretary education, the culture and tourism secretary, the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) chief controller and the EDO Education.
She maintained that since 1997, two nationalised schools, the Government City Boys Secondary School and the City Oriental Night School, have been moved and students accommodated elsewhere. The building was declared protected heritage on September 7, 1995.
During the hearing, the additional advocate-general and the law EDO opposed the demolition of the preserved site. They contended that the heritage and antiquities departments will restore the structure and use it for education as it was being used before.
Justices Gulzar Ahmed and Imam Bux Baloch agreed to the proposal and disposed of the petition. The bench noted that the antiquities department has an endowment fund of Rs1 billion which should be used for the repairs. It also pointed out that a management board has been constituted since August 2008 and it should hold a meeting within four weeks to take up the restoration.
The bench said it expected a firm decision by the board and its implementation so that “no unreasonable delay occurs”.
The bench also directed that copies of the order passed be sent to the Sindh chief secretary and the Sindh advocate-general for information and compliance.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2011.