Heritage sites: Rs38.3m approved for renovation of 16 buildings

Bhagat Singh, Rae Ahmad Kharal’s residences to be declared heritage sites.

FAISALABAD:

The district government approved of Rs38.3 million for the renovation of 16 historical buildings in the district on Wednesday. The buildings include residences of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Rae Ahmad Kharal.

District Coordination Officer Noorul Amin Mengal told media persons that Rs924,000 would be spent on renovating the house where Kharal, an active member of the Independence Struggle, lived. The house is situated in Chak Jhumra and the building would be preserved as a heritage site, he said.

Mengal said Rs1.3 million will be spent on renovating Singh’s residence in Chak 105-GB, Jaranwala. He said the house would be declared a heritage site and will be seen by future generations as a symbol of resistance to imperial power.

The DCO said Rs6 million had been allocated for the rehabilitation of the old camp office in the District Coordination Officer House; Rs5 million had been allocated for the Railways Hospital; Rs2.3 million for the Government Pakistan Model High School in Kutchery Bazaar; Rs6.339 million had been allocated for the district health office; Rs1.6 million for the Chenab Club opposite the Saint Peter’s Church; Rs1.769 million for a church next to the Rail Bazaar; Rs3.9 million for the Zila Council Building; Rs1.9 million for Darul Uloom Abdullah Pur; Rs1.25 million for Ghumti next to the Rail Bazaar; Rs1.19 million for a village, Khushpur, in Samundri; Rs1.77 million for Qaisari Gate near Rail Bazaar; Rs374,000 for Gangapur Village; Rs1.79 million for shops near the Clock Tower, Ganga Pura; and Rs996,000 for the renovation of Jaamia Masjid, Kutchery Bazaar.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2014.