The fabled ‘Lahore Walled City’ is one of South Asia’s jewels as the grandeur of its centuries-old heritage leaves magical influence on the visitors.
Each year thousands of tourist throng the city to visit the historical landscape of Shahi Qila, Badshahi Masjid, Shalamar Garden, Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Masjid Wazir Khan and number of other places – the places source of special fascination for them.
The Mughal Empire, during their rein (1526-1857), declared Lahore as their capital, and endowed the city with iconic monuments, fortifications, mosques, palaces and gardens with an amalgamation of Persian, Indian and central Asian architectural touch. But over the decades, these historic buildings depreciated and the government, in recent past, decided to introduce the ‘Walled City Project’ to protect and preserve this heritage.
The ‘Walled City’ has a cluster of monuments and buildings reflecting local and exotic architectural skills. During the Mughal Empire, the Old City (Walled City) was surrounded by nine-metre high brick wall and a rampart running around it for protection for the city.
A circular road around the rampart gave access to the city through thirteen gates named as Delhi Gate, Lohari Gate, Akbari Gate, Roshnai Gate, Yakki Gate, Bhati Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Sheran-wala Gate, Masti Gate, Mori Gate, Mochi Gate, Shah Alam Gate and Texali Gate.
“I desire to restore the old Lahore city in its true grandeur and spirit by launching notable projects to preserve this heritage and promote tourism,” said Walled City Lahore Authority (WCLA) Director General Kamran Lashari.
“The Authority is carrying out development and rehabilitation work in the area from Chowk Old Kotwali to Golden Mosque,” Lashari said. “About 22 streets, 150 buildings and the Golden Mosque are being rehabilitated.”
Lashari told that after preservation and restoration of Royal Fort, restoration work on Alamgiri Gate, Shah Burj Gate,Temple of Loh, Sheesh Mahal Attick Rooms, Maktib Khana, Naulakha Pavilion, Moti Masjid have been completed and opened for tourists.
The restoration work of Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e-Khas, Kala Burj, Lal Burj and Akbari Hammam is underway and will be completed in fall 2022, he added.
To protect and promote heritage-tourism in the province, the Punjab government has decided to expand the authority network to other cities in the province.
“The character and composition of each heritage structure was elevated with superior quality, unique ornamentation, perfect symmetry, intricate details, geometrical shapes, minarets, crafted arches and large gateways,” Lashari said.
The Walled City consists of around 252-hectare area. Many of its historic ‘havelis’ and houses were rehabilitated to many storeys as these buildings include beautifully carved wooden balconies, brick façades and overhanging windows with wooden shutters (Jharokas).
History reveals that most part of the ancient city was destroyed when the British Army invaded it in 1849. Later on, at the time of partition in 1947, different sections of the Walled City were badly damaged due to arson and looting.
“Lahore is famous for its architectural heritage, gardens, foods, traditional and educational institutions and heritage and one of the greatest tourist destinations in South Asia,” remarked Deputy Secretary Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Imran Gondal.
He said that in 2005, the Punjab Government in collaboration with Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) had made technical contributions to the World Bank-funded ‘the Shahi Guzargah (Royal Trail)’ project, in the Walled City.
In 2014, he said, 46 projects were whittled down to the top 14 global destinations by a panel of international conservation experts. After rehabilitation of Gali Surjan Singh, located inside Lahore’s Delhi Gate in 2014, it had been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of Asia-Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation.
The Delhi Gate was built by Akbar the Great in 1566, and Gali Surjan Singh includes Masjid Wazir Khan and the old Shahi Hamam. The serenity of the catchy domes of the mosque, attract millions of tourists and travelers, every year.
“The Walled City is a World Heritage site with around 2,000 wonderful buildings within its boundaries,” said Dr. Samina Zaheer, Assistant Professor at College of Art & Design, University of the Punjab.
“These buildings display a wide range of architectural features that reflect Lahore’s centuries old cultural heritage landscape. Preserving these sites is a great service to the city and its people,” she added.
Over the decades, mounting population pressure led to ill planned expansion and illegal occupation of the land marring the beauty of Walled City.
Taking cognizance of the situation, the Punjab Government passed the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) Act in April 2012 and declared the Walled City as an autonomous body to run the functions in this area.
The WCLA has, so far, restored 383-metre-long heritage trail running from Delhi Gate to Chowk Purani Kotwali market area. The restoration involves removal of encroachments, replacement of infrastructure and provision of services like underground telecommunications, electricity, gas, water and sewerage, streets paving and roads furniture.
The citizens in the area are glad to seeing renovation work with the older stuffy and stinky streets turning to be pleasant and lively.
“Today, this old city has started giving enchanting look. Today, we find its streets cleaner and secure,” said Mustafa Butt, a resident of Walled City.
“Earlier, I was always reluctant to send my children outside to play. But now, at least, I know that the environment around my house is clean and safe,” he said.