Government negligence: In Abbottabad, the forgotten Jalal Baba auditorium

The official building complex generates its own funds and is in dire need of maintenance.

ABBOTABAD:

A once grand building, with a serene air to it, stands crumbling in the cantonment area of Abbottabad.

Jalal Baba auditorium, built in 1993 at a cost of Rs27.5 million and spanning an area of 8.75 acres, is gradually losing its grandeur due to lack of funds. Being an official building it is entitled to receive funds from the provincial government; however, it is currently generating its own finances through various means.

The building complex consists of an auditorium that can hold up to 500-700 people, a public library, Abbasin Arts Council, Abbottabad Development Authority, a computer literacy department and a National Book Foundation centre that has its head office is in Islamabad. It also has a Karate Club.

Khalid Wahid Qureshi has been the volunteer caretaker of the auditorium since 15 years and is also the Secretary of the Abbasin Arts Council. He informed The Express Tribune that the income they generate is very little and the auditorium hardly gets any financial support from the provincial government. He said the auditorium is being sustained by being leased out to marriage ceremonies and other events, at Rs10,000 per function.

Qureshi added that the auditorium used to hold different exhibitions such as handicrafts and bridal shows but all such events have been stopped since the past seven years due to financial constraint.

He stated that the auditorium’s funds were increased to RS200,000 annually by the Sherpao government in 1994. However, in 1996 the funds were totally stopped. Several petitions were sent to the provincial government but to no avail. “Hazara is not given any funds for such recreational activities,” he added.

It was Shahibzada Anis, former commissioner of Hazara, who got the government to allocate funds for the complex. “He got approved about Rs11 million from the provincial government,” he said, adding that the money will go towards the maintenance of the complex, which is expected to start in a year and a half. He also praised Hazara Comissioner Waqar Ayub’s efforts for the auditorium.

The National Book Foundation (NBF) is also a government funded entity that provides books and other reading material on discounted prices. An elderly visitor of the NBF Jamal Abbassi said, “It is the most useful institution in Abbottabad.”

NBF in-charge Raja Riasat said, “NBF had a Readers’ Club under which deserving people were issued a card on which they could get a 55 per cent discount.”

Riasat estimated that each beneficiary used to get about Rs3,000 annually in rebates. However, two years ago, the government ended the scheme, he said.

The computer literacy centre at the centre is hardly functional since it too had to generate funds on its own.

The auditorium has offices of the Hazara Abbasin Arts Council which has been functional since 1982 and currently has about 250 members. Hazara Commissioner is the president of the council. The National Council of Arts recently increased the funds allocation to the council from Rs25,000 per year to Rs50,000.

The council also holds Poetry, Qirat, Naat and various other competitions. He said the arts council is trying to promote local artists but their efforts are marred by scarcity of funds.

“There is no shortage of talent here (in Hazara); if the government takes interest we can perform at international level,” he said, adding that two members from the council won Qirat competitions at national level.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2011.