The PHC had ordered a clean-up operation of the centuries-old Shahi Khata which has suffered at the hands of negligent authorities. PHOTO: FILE
A victim of short-sighted policies of the Municipal Corporation of Peshawar (MCP), the historic Shahi Khata was again broken to remove waste earlier this week.
The centuries-old drain was hacked for the third time in the past few months – this time near Pipal Mandi. In June, the MCP broke the Khata in two places near Qissa Khwani Bazaar for the same reason.
The Shahi Khata was constructed under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by the then governor of Peshawar. It was last repaired and restored during the British reign in 1890, after which it was decided the drain be covered completely by constructing shops on it. However, certain places along the drain were left open for it to be cleaned annually and staff was also hired for this purpose.
With the passage of time, the annual clean-up of the khata was abandoned altogether. During the last 10 years, clean-up missions along the drain have been almost non-existent.
Additionally, during the local government system, the 122 men employed for the purpose of cleaning the drain worked as personal servants in the houses of union council nazims and other government officials.
The absence of cleaning staff resulted in the drain getting blocked and overflowing every time Peshawar witnessed rainfall. In February, the Peshawar High Court’s green bench took notice of the situation and sought replies from employees regarding their continued absence from work.
Following this, the MCP jumped into action and began its clean-up operation, which involved breaking the historic structure in certain places to remove years of accumulated waste.
Locals, on the other hand, believe breaking the Shahi Khata is unnecessary and a real loss for the city and its heritage.
“Breaking the Shahi Khata is not the answer. It’s just a ploy to divert the court’s attention and ruin the centuries-old structure,” a trader told The Express Tribune. He lamented the MCP was breaking the drain in busy squares, instead of opening the spaces which the British had already created for the purpose of cleaning.
“There is no one to stop this nonsense,” complained another trader.
An MCP official admitted the drain had been ignored during the decade the local government was in place and any available open spaces had been sold for shops.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2013.
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