PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI: After its lease expired 36 years ago, the Rawalpindi district administration has finally taken control of the girl guide’s divisional headquarters near Eidgah in the garrison city.
The 24-kanals of land on which the division headquarters of the girl guides was built had been leased out for 36 years in 1956 with a monthly rent of just Re1. The lease expired in 1982 but has since seen the building deteriorate.
The Guide House is surrounded on one side by a government girl high school towards the north-east and a hospital towards the west.
However, over time the concept of girl guides died down from its heydays at the time of Partition and today is almost non-existent.
However, an office for the girl guides trainer is still maintained in the building.
With the lease expired, the government had considered merging it with the Mother and Child Hospital located adjacent to the building. However, the matter has been pending before the Supreme Court and has faced multiple delays.
The issue of Guide House came to fore when it was discovered that a retired female girl guides trainer was living in the building along with her personal staff. She and her staff had to be forcibly evicted from the building and new gatekeepers and ground staff was appointed.
The Guide House building is built on a single Kanal of land while its grounds 23 kanals which are protected by 10 feet tall boundary walls.
With no girl guides activities taking place on its grounds, they are used for illegal car parking, hosting rallies, public gatherings, funeral prayers and even wedding functions.
Shops were constructed illegally on one part of the land but were later demolished.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2018.
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