New road to be built to ‘facilitate’ businesses at Delhi Gate
Shopkeepers say it will only benefit those operating inside the gate
"Five shops will have to be demolished to build the road. We are negotiating with their owners to take them on board for the project,” Nausheen Zaidi. PHOTO: ZAHOORUL HAQ
LAHORE:
The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) says it will build a road to connect the Delhi Gate market with Circular Road to facilitate businesses in the area.
The road in Gur Mandi would be constructed to address complaints of shopkeepers who said the renovation of the bazaar, carried out over three years, had affected their businesses, Nauhseen Zaidi, the WCLA social mobility coordinator, said.
Restoration of several Walled City areas has been underway since 2012. It includes improving the sewage system and moving wires underground. The exercise is part of a larger project to restore the Royal Trail that the Mughal emperors used to enter Lahore Fort when arriving from New Delhi.
“Five shops will have to be demolished to build the road. We are negotiating with their owners to take them on board for the project,” Zaidi told The Express Tribune.
She said the artery would provide supply vehicles direct access to the Delhi Gate market. It would reach Delhi Gate via Circular Garden and a yard controlled by the WCLA, she said.
The shopkeepers have a different story to tell.
Shahzeb, who has been running a packaging shop for 40 years, is among those whose shops will be demolished.
“They are doing this to accommodate shopkeepers inside Delhi Gate. They have closed a road entering Gur Mandi from behind Shahi Hamam,” he said.
Muhammad Ashraf’s two cotton shops will also have to be demolished. “We have yet to reach an agreement with the WCLA regarding compensation,” he says.
Muhammad Ajmal and Noor Muhammad are two other persons whose shops are to be demolished. They say the road would provide tourists direct access to Delhi Gate surpassing many shops in the area. “How will it benefit the shopkeepers outside the Gate?” said Ajmal.
Naimat Khan, another shopkeeper in the area, says he does not know what the WCLA wants to do.
“The Walled City Traders’ Association tells us one thing and the WCLA another.” He says some shopkeepers are even considering going on a strike to protest what he calls a poor renovation plan.
Hamid Munir, president of the Walled City Traders’ Association, says the renovation has been ongoing for three years.
“Shopkeepers in the Delhi Gate area have lost many of their customers.”
WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari says he understands that shopkeepers have not benefitted directly from the renovation.
“I sympathise with them… but most of the things they sell do not interest tourists,” he says. The area has been developed for the benefit of residents and the shopkeepers, he says.
“Water seepage was a big problem in the area. We have improved the sewage system and it is now better than many upscale localities,” Lashari says. He says overhead electricity wires have also been moved underground. He says the WCLA is committed to making people of the Walled City direct beneficiaries of the development process.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2015.
The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) says it will build a road to connect the Delhi Gate market with Circular Road to facilitate businesses in the area.
The road in Gur Mandi would be constructed to address complaints of shopkeepers who said the renovation of the bazaar, carried out over three years, had affected their businesses, Nauhseen Zaidi, the WCLA social mobility coordinator, said.
Restoration of several Walled City areas has been underway since 2012. It includes improving the sewage system and moving wires underground. The exercise is part of a larger project to restore the Royal Trail that the Mughal emperors used to enter Lahore Fort when arriving from New Delhi.
“Five shops will have to be demolished to build the road. We are negotiating with their owners to take them on board for the project,” Zaidi told The Express Tribune.
She said the artery would provide supply vehicles direct access to the Delhi Gate market. It would reach Delhi Gate via Circular Garden and a yard controlled by the WCLA, she said.
The shopkeepers have a different story to tell.
Shahzeb, who has been running a packaging shop for 40 years, is among those whose shops will be demolished.
“They are doing this to accommodate shopkeepers inside Delhi Gate. They have closed a road entering Gur Mandi from behind Shahi Hamam,” he said.
Muhammad Ashraf’s two cotton shops will also have to be demolished. “We have yet to reach an agreement with the WCLA regarding compensation,” he says.
Muhammad Ajmal and Noor Muhammad are two other persons whose shops are to be demolished. They say the road would provide tourists direct access to Delhi Gate surpassing many shops in the area. “How will it benefit the shopkeepers outside the Gate?” said Ajmal.
Naimat Khan, another shopkeeper in the area, says he does not know what the WCLA wants to do.
“The Walled City Traders’ Association tells us one thing and the WCLA another.” He says some shopkeepers are even considering going on a strike to protest what he calls a poor renovation plan.
Hamid Munir, president of the Walled City Traders’ Association, says the renovation has been ongoing for three years.
“Shopkeepers in the Delhi Gate area have lost many of their customers.”
WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari says he understands that shopkeepers have not benefitted directly from the renovation.
“I sympathise with them… but most of the things they sell do not interest tourists,” he says. The area has been developed for the benefit of residents and the shopkeepers, he says.
“Water seepage was a big problem in the area. We have improved the sewage system and it is now better than many upscale localities,” Lashari says. He says overhead electricity wires have also been moved underground. He says the WCLA is committed to making people of the Walled City direct beneficiaries of the development process.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2015.