Daily Times

LAHORE: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has decided to conserve and restore the Begum Shahi Mosque from March 26, Daily Times learnt on Tuesday.

The WCLA did not have the ownership of the mosque but with the consent of the Archaeology and Auqaf departments the authority decided to step forward to restore this piece of history.

According to WCLA Conservation and Planning Director Najamus Saquib, the planning cycle-I (PC-1) of the mosque had been prepared amounting to Rs 120 million out of which the government had released Rs 20 million for the initial work.

He said that the funds which had been received would be consumed in the documentation of the mosque. “We are starting work from March 26, which will include basic documentation of the mosque and it will lay down the foundation for the future conservation plan. We will start with the 3D scanning with the help of an outsourced company. Our utmost concern is the structural analysis for which a company is being hired. WCLA will be doing a detailed study on the fresco work’s present status, details, authenticity and remains. After all these tasks a committee comprising international and local experts will review the documentation and set the steps forward for conservation, as we have already done in the case of picture wall of Lahore Fort.”

He said that documentation would be completed by April 2018. When asked about the ownership of the mosque, he said that meetings with Auqaf and Archaeology department were held to determine the ownership of the mosque and for Rim Market. He said that Social Mobilisation Department of the WCLA was dealing with the matter.

Talking to Daily Times, Marketing and Social Mobilization Director Asif Zaheer said that there were almost 350 shops around the mosque. He said that the encroached area was once part of the mosque and Circular Garden. He said that encroachments were damaging the façade of the mosque. He said that that the WCLA was planning to shift the Rim Market for which the WCLA’s social mobilisation team was working on the compensation plans for removal of encroachments. “This is a difficult task and needs proper planning and political support. It is important to relocate the market after which WCLA make will the place a tourist hub by linking the mosque with Akbari Gate of Lahore Fort and Greater Iqbal Park”, he said.

Sources told Daily Times that the possession of the mosque was with the Punjab Archeology Department but far they had not carried out any conservation work.

“In 1960s, repair work on the mosque was done and since then a local committee of the area had been collecting funds for its maintenance,” sources said, adding that Department of Archaeology had received an allocation of Rs 59 million from the Punjab government for removal of encroachments around the mosque in 2012.

When contacted, a senior official of the Archaeology Department, wishing to remain unnamed, said neither the ownership of the mosque was with them nor they were responsible for its upkeep, although they have declared the mosque a protected monument.

He said that Archaeology Department did receive funds for relocation of Rim Market in 2012 but later the fort was handed over to WCLA and so the plans could not be implemented.

However, he said that the ownership of the mosque was not with them and Daily Times should contact the WCLA as it lies in the domain of the Walled City of Lahore. To this matter, Najamus Saquib Director said that he was having meetings with the Archaeology and Auqaf departments and would take them in loop before starting restoration work to avoid any confusion.

WCLA Media Deputy Director Tania Qureshi said that Begum Shahi Mosque was the oldest surviving Mughal-era mosque, which was built in1611-1614 by Mughal Emperor Jahangir for his mother Mariam Zamani. “The mosque, originally built 10 feet above the ground, has now sunken four feet below the standard point as it had happened in the case of Wazir Khan Mosque,” Qureshi said.

Published in Daily Times, March 21^th 2018.