LAHORE:
The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has decided to install bollards on the road from Delhi Gate to Kotwali Chowk to keep vehicular traffic away from a route that the Mughals once used, The Express Tribune has learned. The installation, aimed at preserving the area’s heritage and to facilitate tourists, would begin on July 8.
WCLA is currently working on a project to restore the Shahi Guzargah (the royal trail) that leads from Delhi Gate to the Lahore Fort. The same path was once used by the Mughal emperors and royalty when they travelled from Delhi to Lahore.
Many important heritage monuments such as Shahi Hamam, Masjid Wazir Khan, Sonehri Masjid and Begum Shahi Masjid are located on the route.
The project is aimed at preserving the culture and heritage of Lahore and promote tourism in the Walled City areas.
In April 2012, the government passed the Walled City of Lahore Authority Act, creating WCLA as an autonomous body to administer conservation, planning, development, management and regulation of the Walled City.
The authority has taken the decision to install bollards on a one-kilometre stretch of the road keeping in view the expected influx of visitors and tourists to the royal trail. Each bollard would be three feet high. The bollards would be six feet apart and joined by chains. Around 36 bollards would be installed outside Delhi Gate.
According to the plan, bollards would also be erected at the streets linked to the royal trail. These streets include Huqqay Waali Gali, Gurr Mandi, Gali Surjan Singh, Pholon Wali Gali, Chohatta Qazi Allahdad, Chohatta Mufti Baqir, Kotwali Chowk and Akbari Mandi.
WCLA Public Relations Assistant Director Asghar Hussain told The Express Tribune that the authority had consulted the residents of the area who would be affected by the decision. “It was difficult to convince them at first. However, they have now understood the utility and importance of this step,” Hussain said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Husnain Shah, a resident of Delhi Gate, said the bollards would help reduce the flow of heavy traffic in the area.
“They are doing a good job in trying to restore the Walled City areas. We support all such steps for the betterment of the historic heritage of the city,” Shah said.
Zaheeruddin Babar, another resident of the area, said the decision would create problems for the residents. “The bollards will make our lives difficult. We are not sure where we will park our cars and what route the residents’ vehicles will take,” he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said the decision was necessary to preserve the areas that had been restored by the authority.
“The area we have restored cannot sustain heavy traffic. We want to make it a tourist heritage trail,” he said. Lashari said the authority would make arrangements for rerouting the traffic. “We are planning to reroute vehicles so that residents and visitors do not face difficulty in parking,” he said. Marketing Director Asif Zaheer said the decision would reduce air and noise pollution in the area. “Residents will be happy to get rid of the traffic rush. We plan to replicate the same model in other parts of the Walled City,” Zaheer said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2014.
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