Smaller entrance of Roshnai Gate comes unhinged

The 180-year-old structure is one of 13 gates within the Walled City of Lahore

LAHORE: The smaller gate of the original 180-year-old Roshnai Gate has come unhinged as a result of the heavy rains which lashed the city on Tuesday. The gate is one of 13 that encase the historic Walled City of Lahore.

Walled City of Lahore Authority (WLCA) Director Asif Zaheer said the small gate of the structure fell and WLCA teams have immediately started repair work. He assured that the structure would be back to its original shape at the soonest.

This gate of the Food Street in the Old City was built during colonial rule and witnesses said that its age finally showed as rains damaged the structure.



The Roshnai Gate is of great historical significance and is used by people who visit the Badshahi Mosque or Shahi Qila from the Food Street.

WLCA Director Coordination Najamul Saqib said confirmed that the smaller gate was damaged by the water that has accumulated on the Food Street after Tuesday’s rain.

On Monday, it was reported that the Roshnai Gate had collapsed. According to the press release issued by the WLCA, the Roshani Gate itself is intact, but the small entrance gate has come unhinged due to the rain. “The main gate has not collapsed not is it damaged. WLCA teams will be restoring the small gate soon.”

The press release further said that the original Roshnai Gate near the Samadhi of Ranjeet Singh and Badshahi Mosque is intact and should not be confused with the smaller gate.

WCLA neglects dilapidated buildings

Despite tall claims made by the WCLA, more than 185 dilapidated residential buildings located in the old city have not been reconstructed or repaired.

Funds worth millions of rupees are being spent every year on other work instead of repair and maintenance of the buildings.

The residents are at risk of injury from accidents such as building collapse due to a lack of attention of the department. According to details obtained by The Express Tribune, residents are compelled to live in dilapidated buildings of their native area due to the lack of necessary repair work in the interior city.

During the past few years, people have lost their lives in incidents in which dilapidated buildings collapsed. Meanwhile, several others have suffered injuries. Despite the ongoing crisis, residents of these buildings were neither provided alternative housing by the government nor has WCLA repair work seen the light of day.

When the WCLA took responsibility of restoring the provincial capital, the most important issue was to make dilapidated buildings inhabitable for local residents. To this end, the previous provincial government provided funds worth millions of rupees to the WCLA.



Despite this, the dilapidated buildings of interior city remain unrepaired and residents are compelled to personally repair their residential surroundings. There are disproportionate responsibilities that the residents of the interior city have to endure, simply due to negligence when it comes to making renovation arrangements by the WCLA.

Saqib said that a new PC-1 has been obtained to repair and reconstruct old and dilapidated houses of the interior city. The provincial government will also be requested to provide an additional Rs40 to Rs50 million to complete the project. He added that residents should also support the renovation project so that their houses can be repaired as soon as possible.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2019.