In the posh area opposite the green Lawrence Gardens is the office of the "Sustainable Development of the Walled City of Lahore Project". It is this posh setup that the former chief minister of the Punjab put up to show that he was going to change the now completely dilapidated walled city of Lahore. If promises can be empty, this sure was empty and dry.
One is not out to criticize any particular government, but the fact remains that the people of Lahore and the leaders or/and governments they choose, have turned their proverbial backs on the old walled city. Today it is stripped of its originality, inhabited by wholesale businessmen in search of basement space, and assisted by an alien population of Afghan refugees. The walled city of Lahore is today, and one has no hesitation in saying so, not what it is made out to be. It is a stinking dirty web of lanes and cul-de-sacs given to us by history as old as time. Concrete monstrosities are fast replacing the exquisite houses.
The beauty is not what it is advertised. The beast that is left is one over which no one has any control as the trader classes degrade the area's rich history by the day. The new refugees from the west of the country have no idea of its caring liberal traditions. The once clean streets have filthy water and muck standing everywhere. No municipal responsibility exists.
The entire walled city has no gardens, and hence only six gardeners, less than what one "pucca sahib" would have in his huge house. What one says may sound as harsh words, but then this is the truth. If someone is in a state of disbelief, then it is suggested that they take just one walk in this park and they will know the reality of the walled city, let alone the effectiveness of the sustainable development project.
There was once a myth floated that the World Bank would provide $200 million to start work on this project. The fact remains that no such amount was promised. The total amount pledged, and one has it on authority from the original donor, was a $5 million grant.
Former chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, in a grand gathering on the subject, stated: "The start has been made by the World Bank with $5 million. The Punjab government will take this figure to $100 million.” This is what the text of the speech says. The next day the press went bananas. Bureaucrats lined up to get themselves transferred to this project. But the politicians in charge stopped the stampede because they knew the reality.
Let me inform you on authority that no $100 million "Lahore Walled City Project" exists. What does exist is a posh office on Lawrence Road, a sub-office of the Punjab government’s Planning and Development Department, which is called the "Sustainable Development of the Walled City Project". The $5 million funds pledged by the World Bank were promised because the old walled city was declared a protected area, and there was a need to save it from dying at the hands of businessmen who were turning basements of old ancient houses into godowns.
The cheapest labour available was Afghan refugees, who started replacing the old hands, and soon we had a situation where these traders knocked down the old wall and created a 14th gate of Lahore between Shahalami and Mochi gates. To the north a similar attempt is being made.
The original idea of the bureaucrats was to work on the "Royal route", an idea they themselves say was picked up from an article printed in this very newspaper. The idea was to make the entrance to the walled city at Delhi Gate right pass the Shahi Hamaam, and Masjid Wazir Khan to the Lahore Fort a beautiful and clean walk, so that foreign tourists could see the beauty of Lahore. One has just to keep the place clean and the illegal shops on the road away, and the job is done. However, this is not possible because of the state of governance in Lahore, and the country in general.
How does one save Lahore? It might sound strange, but this is the manner in which all great cities have been saved. First, save Lahore from its ruling business classes; the examples of Fex in Morocco, and of Florence in Italy, are classic models to study.
The greatest enemies of a city are its businessmen; they are in the business of making profits, not bothering about its history. If just five major things are done in the walled city of Lahore, a modest start will be in place.
First, the city must be cleaned at least twice a day - early in the morning, and in the afternoon. Every lane, street and square must be cleaned and the garbage removed. Secondly, the entire walled city must be zoned off into residential, commercial and historical zones, with the commercial zones not being more than 15 per cent of the total area.
Thirdly, no business or storage must be allowed in residential or historic areas. This must be strictly enforced. Fourthly, special building laws must be put into force in the walled city of Lahore, and lastly, a special municipal authority for the walled city must be in place. It should restore and look after the walled city.
Can this simple act of "cleaning up" be achieved? One has doubts, for the business and bureaucrats of Pakistan both start with a "B", and they will never allow any dent to the merciless drive of the trading classes. That being the case, the cause of history is lost. It is as simple as that. The sooner we understand this, the better. At present there is no sustainable development of the walled city of Lahore project.
So where do we go from here? We have put forward the reality as it exists on the ground inside the walled city, we have identified the forces at work there, we have given you a glimpse of the people operating there, and we have stated that no efforts of the government of the Punjab or World Bank exists to save Lahore. Yes what is at work is a realization that this work needs a lot of research, and that research the World Bank is trying hard to set afoot. One only hopes that they manage to do this so that some baseline is set.
Why has the walled city of Lahore, probably the oldest human dwelling in Pakistan along with Multan and some cities in Sindh, reached this critical state? The answer lies squarely, first on the utter disinterest of the civil society in Lahore in its own history, and secondly, because there has been insufficient pressure on the government to heed to this immense historic and human problem, they have not done what they ought to be doing in the first place.
The reason civil society has not been bothered is because the influential people in Lahore's civil society do not live inside the old walled city, and also because the original inhabitants have left for the suburbs and have been replaced by people who do not belong to this land, or city, they have no idea what they are destroying. This tragic failure of civil society to heed to the problems of their own original homes is a reflection of the inability of civil society in Pakistan itself to respond to the immense challenges that face them. So such failure is to be expected.
The reason the government has failed is because there is no pressure or money for them in this enterprise. To imagine that our governments, local, district or provincial, will respond without some profit, or gain, is like living in a fool's paradise. The paradise that was Lahore has actually been turned into a fool's worse dream. Who will save Lahore and its walled city? The answer is no one will.
The decay continues, and it will take millions of dollars, if not a few billion, and, more importantly, a large number of honest people serving for a long period. Can the money and the people be found? My view is that it is a tall order, but not impossible. Till then the dream of a walled city like the days of old is an “unsustainable” idea.
