Built heritage: Five shops demolished at Katri Baoo Mumtaz

Some shop owners claim they were forced to accept meagre amounts for their land.

LAHORE:

Following the demolition of the Katri Baoo Mumtaz gate last month, several shops in the area have been torn down. Some of the shop owners claim that the people behind the demolition had forced them to accept at gun point meagre amounts for their properties.

The roofs of five shops were demolished over the last few weeks.

Talib Hussain, the culture and heritage expert at the Walled City of Lahore Authority, said, “Katri Baoo Mumtaz is an old residential locality... Unfortunately its exact history...is not known.”

Allah Ditta*, one of the residents told The Express Tribune that Chaudhry Fazil and his cousin Chaudhry Zubair, were forcing residents and shop owners to sell them their properties. “I had to accept Rs4 million for my shop and vacated it two weeks ago. None of the shopkeepers have filed a complaint against them because they are scared,” he said.

Shabbir Raza*, another shop owner, said, “All of us are scared of Fazil and Zubair. They made me accept Rs3.5 million for my one-marla shop at gunpoint. My shop was worth more. I vacated the building two weeks ago.”

Amjad Bhatti, a property dealer in the area, told The Express Tribune that the price of property in Katri Baoo Mumtaz ranged from Rs8 million to Rs10 million per marla.”

The officer in-charge at Yakki Gate police station said that they could not take any action until somebody filed a complaint or somebody was caught red-handed.

WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said that while the Ravi Town TMA had said that the demolished shops were in dilapidated condition, the buildings were not dilapidated. He said there had to be a commercial plan behind it. “The WCLA, the city government and the town municipal administration must do something about this or we will lose our heritage to commercial activity,” he said.

He said that the provincial government had imposed a ban on demolition of buildings in the Walled City in 2008. Section 144 had been imposed in the area for the purpose and an FIR would be lodged under Section-188 of the Pakistan Penal Code (disobedience, defiance of [government] order), he said. He said the violators could be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with a fine up to Rs600, or with both. If such disobedience caused or tended to cause danger to human life, health or safety, or caused or tended to cause a riot or affray, it could be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to six months, or with a fine up to Rs3,000, or with both.

When asked how such a lenient punishment could act as a deterrent against demolishing buildings, Lashari said, “We are working on drafting building by-laws that would be implemented once building control passes to the WCLA.”

He said that the WCLA would restore the demolished buildings after taking building control from the TMA.

WCLA Deputy Director Tania Qureshi said, “None of the buildings in Katri Baoo Mumtaz were dilapidated. That was a ruse... no action has been taken to stop this. I don’t believe the Ravi Town administrator is uninformed either.”

“The TMA has building control at the moment but the WCLA will take over in a few weeks,” she said.

Ravi Town Administrator Sardar Ahad Dogar told The Express Tribune two weeks ago that he did not know which buildings were being demolished or who was carrying it out. He said that he would send a team to Katri Baoo Mumtaz to investigate. He said last that the TMA only implemented WCLA’s orders. However, when asked to produce a notification that stated that the authority had been transferred, he said that he did not have it.

Zubair, told The Express Tribune that they were buying property to construct a shopping mall, along the lines of Azam Cloth Market, there. “Construction will commence as soon as the remaining shops are demolished,” he said, “Probably towards the end of this month.” When asked about the allegation that he was forcing shopkeepers to sell their shops, he refused comment. Answering a question of how he could order the demolition of the Katri Baoo Mumtaz gate, Zubair said that he did not need permission to demolish it.

DCO Nasim Sadiq said that an FIR had been registered following the demolition of Katri Baoo Mumtaz gate. City government officials had arrested a man, Asim alias Billa, he said. He said the man had later been released on bail. The shops had been demolished without the TMA’s consent, he said.

Zubair said Asim worked for him.

The DCO said that he would look into the recent demolitions and take action.

WCLA DG Lashari had written to the DCO on September 12, stating that either the TMA or residents of the area must have consented to the demolition of the gate. He said this was a flagrant violation of rules and disrespect of heritage the WCLA was trying to preserve.

The DG had previously requested the DCO to ensure that experts from the TMA office and the WCLA were present at the site of all demolitions in the Walled City.

Lashari said that no one had asked the WCLA to visit Katri Baoo Mumtaz when the gate and shops were demolished.

*Names have been changed on the request of the shopkeepers and neighbours

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2013.