LAHORE: The conservation of Musamam Darwaza (gate) of Lahore Fort is near completion and it is expected to be opened for public in July this year, Daily Times has learnt. The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) had started conservation work in April with a budget of Rs.4 million. Speaking to Daily Times, WCLA deputy director (media and marketing) Tania Qureshi said that Musamam Darwaza was an important place inside the Lahore Fort for two reasons. “Firstly, this was the main gate of Lahore Fort built during the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s reign, prior the construction of the Alamgiri Gate. At that time, it connected the Royal Kitchen with the Shah Burj and Sheesh Mahal, and Moti Masjid area, and there was a garden between these places which was replaced by a road by the British and that road we now use for entering into the Fort,” he said, adding that the other reason why it was important was because it was used for the movement of the royals and their servants, especially the kitchen staff. “The gate was closed at night for everyone and only on the call of the emperor, queen, and princes or princess any one could come into the Fort from the gate.” She said that by neglecting the gate, ‘we were actually neglecting an important part of our history. This is a reason that people do not know anything about this gate and neither will you find anything written about it available online, she said. “When the administration of the Fort was given to WCLA in 2015, we planned different phases of conservation and took up work on the neglected sites of Lahore Fort and that’s why WCLA took up the initiative to start the conservation of this site,” Tania said. WCLA Conservation and Planning director Najam Saquib, while talking to Daily Times, said that with a cost of Rs.4 million, the gate was being conserved to its original form. “Information regarding its look and structure was gathered from various sources. We are conserving this gate by following international standards of conservation as the fort is a world heritage site. We started the work with archaeological excavations, documentation and removal of debris and wild plantation and removed almost 40,000 cubic feet of debris. During the excavation we found the original floors and ramps. At some point in time, concrete material was used for the gate’s construction and its removal proved to be a hard task.” The WCLA director continued, “We are also repairing the plaster, floors, wooden doors, beams, ceilings, and after the conservation in July we will be illuminating the gate and making it a part of our History by Night tours.” He said a room next to the Musamam Gate will be used as lights control room where they were placing the system to manage the illumination of the facility. He also mentioned that the history plaques would be placed there for the information of the tourists. The visitors would be able to access Barood Khana and Musamam Darwaza from the British era bridge. WCLA director general Kamran Lashari was of the view that the Lahore Fort was the main site of concern for WCLA and they were taking all possible steps for restoring it for tourists. “It needs to be preserved for generations ahead as it is the citadel of Pakistan.” Published in Daily Times, June 8th 2018.