Bahawalpur’s royal fountain stops functioning

Mayor says someone has filled water outlet nozzles with chalk dust.

BAHAWALPUR: A masterpiece of its kind, Queen Victoria’s fountain popularly known as Fawara Chowk, has been standing in the midst of Bahawalpur City for decades. However, the fountain has not been functioning for some time due to the negligence of the authorities and lack of maintenance.

The situation has irked the people of Bahawalpur and they demanded the district administration to repair the fountain and make it operational again as it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city.

While speaking to The Express Tribune, Resident of Muhammdia Colony Raees Idrees said, “This fountain is the identity of Bahawalpur and it should be made operational so that Fawara Chowk’s beauty can be restored.”



Another resident Usama told The Express Tribune, “It is the proof of administration’s incompetence that this historic fountain is not maintained properly and it stopped working.” He added, “Similarly other historic artifacts and buildings are also not being maintained that has damaged the heritage of Bahawalpur.”

When contacted, Bahawalpur Mayor Aqeel Najam Hashmi said, “The issue has been brought to the attention of the administration and we found out that someone had filled the water outlet nozzles with chalk dust due to which the fountain ceased to operate.” He pointed out, “We will utilise all available resources to make the fountain functional again on war-footing basis.”

History

In 1880, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom commissioned Allen and Company in London to construct two fountains. One of them was installed near Buckingham Palace, while the other one was shipped to Karachi from where it was carefully transported to Bahawalpur as a gift to former Bahawalpur State Nawab Sadiq Khan Abbasi-IV.

The fountain was inaugurated by Viceroy of India Lord Curzon. The plaque at the fountain’s base was built by WT Allen and Co. in Upper Thames Street, London.



Initially, the fountain was installed in front of the royal residence ‘Sadiqgarh Palace’ at Dera Nawab Sahib. It remained there for the next few decades as it was considered a symbol of respect between the queen and the Nawab of Bahawalpur.

The fountain has multiple layers for water fall and a jet water flow which was later changed to a modern water pumping system.

In 1899, Nawab Sadiq Khan IV died and Bahawal Khan Abbasi took charge as the Nawab of the city. In 1903, he ordered reinstallation of the fountain from Sadiqgarh Palace to the centre of the city and personally supervised the whole operation.

The historical queen’s fountain served the people of Bahawalpur and used to run on all the state and national occasions. It became one of the main attractions and landmarks of Bahawalpur City.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2017.