Aga Khan Trust for Culture Plans for Lahore

Residents say Sheranwala Gate being neglected

By Hina Farooq

LAHORE: The Sheranwala Gate is in a poor condition. The lime plaster and paint has been damaged and cracks have appeared on the recently conserved walls.

The Mughal Era brickwork has partly replaced by contemporary construction material. A panel of the wooden gate (entrance) – replaced during the Nawaz Sharif regime, removed by the authorities to facilitate some development work has not been installed two months after the work was completed.

While the authorities blame the residents for their failure to conserve the architectural heritage. Experts told Daily Times the blame game was just meant to divert attention from the official neglect.

Ranjit Singh had kept two tamed lions in a cage here. That is how the Khizri Darwaza gate came to be called Sheranwala or the lions’ gate.

District coordination officer Mian Muhammad Ejaz said he had received complaints in regard to the Sheranwala Gate issue. He said he would visit the area soon. He said the government was committed to the care of such monuments, but the citizens generally had an apathetic attitude towards such sites.

Dr Ajaz Anwer, a conservationist, said when the restoration work was planned several years back, he had told the authorities that the cement plaster would not sit well with the lime.

Afzal Khan, the Lahore Fort’s curator, said a monument or archeological site’s conservation was the government’s responsibility, adding that people should help remove encroachments in the monuments’ vicinity. He said both the government and people should fulfil their responsibility.

The Punjab government in collaboration with the World Bank and the Aga Khan Foundation has plans to preserve the Walled City and its historic sites including all its gates. The plan, announced in 2006, is to be implemented in several phases.

Source