Daily Times

LAHORE: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) is planting original traditional Mughal era plants inside Lahore Fort and replacing the grass with fine Dhaka Grass along with installation of water sprinklers for lawns, after conducting a thorough research on the horticulture of the site.

The Lahore Fort was handed over to the WCLA in 2015 and since then, the WCLA was looking after the maintenance and improvements in the fort.

According to sources, previously, the lawns lacked greenery and there was tonnes of debris around the Akbari Gate area of Lahore Fort which had been piling over since years as there was poor maintenance of the fort’s horticulture due to which the entire fort looked dull and gloomy.

Sources further added that the stairs of Lahore Fort facing Ali Park had waist high shrubs due to which it had become a no go area for tourists whereas the locals had started dumping waste there and addicts along with other passersby were using those stairs and places around it as an open toilet.

Sources further added that there were irrelevant plants inside the fort which did not depict the traditional Mughal era plants and whenever the experts visited Lahore Fort, it was a point of distress for them. Sources added that many private groups and horticulture clubs had been approaching the Punjab Archaeology Department but due to lack of initiative and funds, they never worked on the improvement of plantation and horticulture of fort which is a world heritage site by the United Nations Education, Scientific & Cultural Organisation.

WCLA Lahore Fort Horticulture Assistant Director Ahsan Khalid, while talking exclusively to Daily Times said that WCLA after taking over Lahore Fort immediately increased the number of gardeners and supervisors for improving the greenery at fort.

“For the last three years, three horticulture supervisors and 45 WCLA gardeners are working in different areas of Lahore Fort including Hazuri Bagh and Ali Park sites. We will soon be having more gardeners to keep up with the good pace of work. In Lahore Fort, currently four auto lawn mowers, five manual lawn mowers, three bush cutters, two tractors, a water browser and a tractor is under use for horticulture works,” he added.

Ahsan Khalid said that WCLA was planting the plants in accordance with Mughal history and for that purpose, the research wing of WCLA has worked on it.

“Right now, the trees we have at Lahore Fort are Bodhi, Java Plum, Plantain, Tuna Ciliata, Weeping Fig, Bauhinia Variegata, Spora and Sacred Fig. In shrubs, there are Morpunkhi, Arabian Jasmine, Bougainvillea and Casuarina Equisetifolia. The flowers at fort consist of roses, spurges and periwinkles,” he said adding that most of the plants at the fort, planted by WCLA are of traditional nature according to the Mughal era and more would be planted soon.

Talking about the general maintenance for the grounds and open spaces inside the fort, Khalid said, “The grounds are maintained regularly by watering them on daily basis, grass cutting with auto lawn mowers, application of fertilisers both organic and inorganic. In open spaces, gardeners clean the lawns every day as the tourists are not aware of keeping away from littering. Wild growth is removed on a daily basis through application of weedicide sprayers.”

WCLA Lahore Fort Director Asif Zaheer, also while talking exclusively to Daily Times said that Ali Park and Akbari Gate areas were most problematic and a lot of attention was required there.

“At Ali Park, we have deputed 10 gardeners with a horticulture supervisor to clean stairs on daily basis for the removal of wild growth and trimming of grass both manually and with application of weedicide sprayers. All the neglected areas in Lahore Fort including Rim Market, Nursery area, Masti Gate side and some other areas are under observation for maintenance work. We will soon be installing the sprinkler system for watering the gardens and lawns of the fort and plans are being made to revamp lawns and replace old grass with new fine Dhaka Grass. All the horticulture works are being done by spending out of the earnings of Lahore Fort,” Asif Zaheer said.

He added that WCLA was involving horticulture students and experts for further improvements in the fort.

“Greenery is important at Lahore Fort as it adds colour to the environment and the buildings. We are constantly working to improve it as it is a tourist spot and such attractions are important for the tourists,” Zaheer added.

Asma Riaz, a tourist visiting Lahore Fort, was of the opinion that the greenery at the Fort had improved a lot since she visited Lahore Fort almost 10 years ago.

“We cannot think that there is complete improvement,” she said.

Published in Daily Times, July 28^th 2018.