KMC begins renovations at Khaliq Dina Hall

KARACHI:

Renovation work of the roof of the historic building Khaliq Dina Hall has been initiated and the affected part of the roof and the resulting leakage would be repaired in the next few days, officials said on Tuesday.

"The work cannot be halted by citing reasons for shortage of funds. Only joint efforts of all of us can preserve historic buildings and heritage," said Metropolitan Commissioner Danish Saeed.

The Metropolitan Commissioner was informed that Rs20 million had been earmarked for this work in 2018 after an advisory board and a technical committee was constituted by the government. He was informed that a work order was issued for work here in 2019 and was started by people with expertise in handling heritage but later funds were not fully provided due to which the renovation work on the roof of the building was halted.

He was informed that out of Rs20 million, Rs6 million has been spent thus far.

Saeed said that he hoped that the remaining funds would be received soon for this work. "It is imperative that historic assets be protected," he added. The metropolitan commissioner noted that special attention needed to be paid to finish the work on wood in the historic building to protect it from termites.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2021.