Students interest in preservation of cultural heritage

The Mud Housing Project is being currently implemented by SPARC in Lahore.

SPARC had taken up the initiative years ago in order to remind of the importance of mud as construction material and to sensitize the general public in this respect.

Mud is not a construction material of the past; that steel concrete and bricks have pushed back such good construction material is a story in itself. Considering the enormous costs of cooling and heating the current form of buildings, it becomes quite clear that mud is environmentally friendly, energy efficient and biologically far superior.

In order to realize the initiative, SPARC was successful in arranging foreign support as well as a local architect, who is working since the year 2000 in south western Punjab, and together with DGFK, it has been giving prizes under the Preservation of Cultural Heritage program: for the best maintained Mud House, Brick House and the most interesting Design.

Now in the realization phase of the initiative, it was important to gather financial and organizational support as well as participants open to new ideas, which was made easier through the provision of land by the Peerzada Group on their Cultural Complex. The planned rooms are to be used by the handicraft workers as sleeping quarters in the night while they work in Workshops during the day.

Example of appropriate technology (solar cooker i.e.) will also be available for demonstration purpose and in order to be independent of the public technical infrastructure.

This combination was also greeted by the universities PU, COMSATS, BNU, who find it useful for involvement of students in practical projects: construction physical measurements are part of the MHP as also experiments with materials.

Generally speaking, the MHP comes at a time of extreme flooding misery around the river Indus and therefore unintended becomes current in its own right. There are however no demonstrated examples of the concept, which can contribute to experience and which can be adjusted for example for usage in the crisis regions.

The initiative described above is small, but it has a large potential: Help at the Indus is of course a priority, but the construction methods in the urban areas are to be examined closely in terms of energy consumption. Mud housing is normally ground floor construction, but there are also interesting mud house examples in double storey construction.

A project of experimental construction is therefore required for a more exact evaluation and experimentation of this and other aspects of mud housing.

This happens in Lahore

Have a party with Squirrels at Light Within

Lahore Revisited

I first became familiar with city of Lahore during the 70s and after wandering about in different parts of the world for over three decades, I have come once again, to be part of it this time.

Away from Lahore, I used to wonder if all the rhetoric about the magic city has any substance to it. Land of superlatives, Lahore is Pakistan’s second biggest and one of the most prosperous cosmopolitan cities, home to universities and colleges, spiritual centres and historic, cultural, commercial and political centre. It has been a land of plenty since centuries. “Lahore is one of the greatest cities of the East,” wrote William Finch, a traveller from the west, in his journal back in 1610.” I found new answers every day.

With over 1500 years of recorded history, Lahore has surpassed those days when saint Hazrat Data Gang Bakhsh said, “It is one of the hamlets in suburbs of Multan”. It has been an empire, a kingdom, a state capital and now cultural capital of a young nation forged in the crucible of one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Lahore is constantly reinventing itself. Now it is changing into a city of fun, festivities, fun and flowers.

The city is known for its beautiful gardens, exquisite fountains, delicious cuisines, and rich heritage of architecture, art and music. Mughal rulers introduced the concept of green places, gardens and baradraries in the city. In 1849, there were 164 gardens in and around Lahore and most were in tact till partition in 1947. Traveller John Foster Fraser wrote in 1899, in his book Round the World on a Wheel, “Lahore is a sort of glorified Gardens.” The axiom seems true in spring when all roads are lavishly lined with flowers beds, flower baskets hanging with poles and bougainvillea blooming from the outer walls of private houses.

Someone once put it that the streets of (old) Lahore are not only paved with bricks, but with history. The old and compact part of the city - neighbourhood where much links of the city with the past are in tact - is not at all easy to navigate. But by wandering aimlessly not only you will get less heated up but you will see more too, and it will eventually get you where you started. Enter through any of the thirteen surviving gateways around once walled city and you can make it around without so much as glancing at a map. What you need to do is make a conscious decision to see Lahore, as it is required to be seen: on a long leisurely stroll into the life of the city. A diplomat once said, “Lahore should be seen on your own. No protocols, no guides and no time limits.” Another thing you will need is a starting point.

The best place to stat is at the Food Street in Gowalmandi, a good mixture of past architectural glories and present culinary delights. I could not recognize the old Gowalmandi I was familiar with during my stay in 1970s. It has changed so much after commissioning in 2000. Gowalmandi Food Street gained popularity as a food centre after independence when Kashmiri immigrants settled here. With them came a new types and traditions of food. A trader of the street says, “apart from variety of cuisine, Gowalmandi Food and Heritage Street has come up as a singularity in Lahore.”

“We want to show real Lahore in Food and Heritage Street,” says a shopkeeper in the Food Street. It is a wonder what collective efforts on renovation of built heritage with balconies and angular projections lining the street have resulted in. Lahorites already (and justifiably) compare the ambiance in the Food Street with lanes in Rome, Paris and Athens.

Sizzling spicy foods on display in street is very mouth-watering. Unfazed by noisy crowd and the bustle, people do not look at each other. At night, the tables are full. One of the shopkeepers told that on the average he sells 200 kilograms of meat and chicken every day. Every body is lead by aroma and looks at the food in front of him or on the fire. Variety of languages greets your ear. The waiters will get the orders though mine was changed once. I was served Butter Chicken Karahi when I ordered chicken breast piece. Foreign tourists look at the food being prepared with amazement and keep clicking their cameras.

So these are some of the realities of Lahore.

Water crises

By Rao Dilshad Hussain

With the induction of 69 new tube wells the number of tube wells across Lahore has risen to 450. As a result the water supply has improved and the lurking crisis of water shortage is over. Last few summers were tough as the government had to face demonstrations of people and even riots due to shortage of clean water and electricity. This year half of the problem is at least solved. New tube wells are pumping water around the clock.

In the Walled City people could be seen standing in long queues for hours to fetch water. Often quarrels broke out when people brought too many buckets with them or tried to bypass the queue to get water. The situation was getting worse. There were frequent eruptions of riots at several places in the city.

The Punjab government tasked Frontier Works Organisation to replace tube wells hoping for quick results. The decision to install new tube wells was taken in August 2008. The agony of water starved people and the enthusiasm of the new setup at Punjab required some drastic measures to overcome the looming crisis and FWO took the responsibility to change the scenario. Timely completion and quality work was the yardstick for this project.

It was a challenge both for Punjab government and FWO as some quarters were sceptical that the later being new in tube well installation may face difficulties however the positive experience of Punjab government for the Lahore Roads Project became the determining factor for the go ahead. The work started in October 2008 with a four cubic feet per second (CFS) capacity tube well at Kashmiri Gate and completed in 2010 with the installation of the 69th tube well in Tibbi Thana area that marked the completion of the plan of Rs432 million in about a year with a saving of 27 million of government funds. All the sites have been handed over to WASA however FWO is responsible for one-year maintenance as per contract.

A tube well is more like a glacier whose nine parts out of ten are submerged and for a depth of many hundred feet the quality of equipment and skilled workmanship becomes important. Shahbaz’s government that had politically benefited from the developmental work executed during its previous tenure of late 90’s had to fulfil the promise as well as expectations for the quality development of Lahore. That was the reason that the system of 3rd party consultant was incorporated and NESPAK was brought in as consultants for the designing, inspections and validations of the drinking water project.

The foremost thing in the current project was to get the pure water from the lower water table at a depth of an average 700 feet below. The average water table in Lahore is about a hundred feet below ground however tube wells were previously sunk at a depth of 550 feet. Lowering of the water table and the risk of any contamination in future was the determining factor for it.

FWO has completed and handed over 69 tubewells to the WASA. The tube wells are at Maskeen Pura, Fateh Garh, Mori Gate, Taxali Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Karim Park Goal Ground, 16-B block, Mushtaq Colony Kotli Pir Abdurehman, 5 C-2, RehmanPura, Kawan Kot WASA colony, C Bloc Faisal Town, Akram Park, Hamad Park, Hamad Colony, Piran Wali, Nabi Baksh Park, Moon Market, Qadri Park, Zubair Park, Firdous Colony, F & V Market, Umar Park, Shadman Nala, Kot Khawaj Saeed, Farid Kot House, Mental Hospital, Chanal Bloc A.I.T, Usman Park, Jamshed Park, LDA Quarter Walton, AL-Faisal Town, Ghaziabad Bus Stop, Islam Pura, 1 C-1 Township, Bogi Wall, Gujar Pura, Adda Crown Bus, G Bloc Sabzazar, Akbari Gate, H-2 Bloc Sabzazar Zar, Imam Ghazali, DO (North Office), Junior Model School, Gawala Colony, Apwa College, C Bloc Sabzazar, General Hospital, Waris Road, Sultani Park Sultan Pura, Patila House, Nishtar Bloc, Paisa Akhbar, Lavion Road, Faisal Park, Abikj Park, Nappier Road, FCC college, Polly Technical College, Chohan Road, Gulshsne Hayat, A Block Muslim Town, Munshi Hospital, Taika Mehmood shah, G Bloc Johar Town, Raj Garh Office, Tehsil Garden and Anad Road.

The absence of a master plan affected all types of developmental work including tube wells. Setting up of a tube well requires lot of coordination with different departments and local resident committees however due to lack of coordination, at earmarked locations after taking in hand preliminary working, FWO was told to move to the new alternate site which wasted lot of time and resources.

The tube wells are under the responsibility of FWO for their technical maintenance up to one year and an efficient and responsive round the clock maintenance system has been chalked out. It is however the tube well operator under whose charge the whole system is placed. The operators are generally employees who are illiterate with no training of operating the equipment. It was easy before due to the old mechanical technology. But enhanced electronic systems have necessitated the need and understanding of vocational training.

Some of the tube well sites could not be handed over to FWO even after a delay of 10 months. However despite of all odds, the dedicated team of FWO has delivered and completed this project of 69 tube wells in a scheduled time of 14 months.

“We have done our best however the life of these machines can be greatly enhanced with proper maintenance and adherence of the Standard Operative Procedure (SOP)” Engineer Azam Project Manager, Tube well Project.

The electricity fluctuations and breakdowns require a continuous presence of the operators. Fiddling with panels and disturbing the electronic settings creates more loss than controlling the situation. Late coming and absence of the operators from duty is another common problem. There have been incidents where the operator was absent even during fire.

Unsatisfactory electrical support system has led to many problems. Installation of substandard transformers, stealing of electric wires and replacement with substandard ones are the recurring problems.

Equipment worth millions of rupees needs trained operators. A basic course in tube well operation and some hands-on training should be a must for the operators. Yearly inspections and performance checks system should be incorporated in its earnest. The average life of tube wells is 10 to 15 years, which can be conveniently extended to 20 years by mere efficient maintenance.

FWO has issued guidelines to WASA for the maintenance of tube wells installed in different parts of the city: The tube well operator is to be employed on regular basis with proper instruction and training. The minimum qualification of the tube well operator should be matriculation. Specialized practical training essentially has to be imparted by WASA to the operators for operation and maintenance of tube wells.

The load shedding has almost become a regular feature, frequent closure and re-operation of tube well with erratic energy supply can result in burning of motor, and MCU. Therefore a watchful operator can save the machinery from damage and as well as utilize the available electric supply hours to the maximum.

It has been observed that at times the WAPDA transformer is giving under or over-voltage due to which the tube well is automatically tripped off. Instead of removing the fault of transformer by sending a complaint to WAPDA, the WASA sub division electrician change the setting of control panel at his own to non-permissible limit and as a result control panel has burnt several times.

Opening of sluice valve of main lines before operating a tube well is very important. It has been found that at time the sluice valve of main line is closed by WASA for repair work in general area. Later the tube wells are started without opening of the valves that result in bursting of mainlines due to back thrust.

Tube well panels have to be kept clean. This will enhance the electrical component. Every month all bolts should be tightened and cleaned regularly. To keep the tube well room cool during summers all windows and ventilators should be kept open.

Aitcheson College, Lahore

This is the image of a building where Aitcheson College started in Lahore back in 1891. The building is still there and functional. Can you indicate where?

Shalimar Interchange

Shalimar Interchange is a useful addition in the landmark constructions of the metropolis. Constructed on the road to historic Shalimar Gardens, it is a link with our rich heritage and continuation of the artistic vision and the superb building skills that our master craftsmen possess.

Shalimar Interchange is a state of the art project constructed by Frontier Works Organisation – the leading construction organisation of the country. It is the first 3 level interchange in Punjab over the canal and the railway line and comprises of a 1.6 km Flyover, 2 Underpasses, 2 Ground Level Bridges and 11 km service roads around the site.

The flyover-bridge is of the latest design that is most suitable for the locality. Its sleek transoms (pillars) and girders radiate openness. Besides regulating the traffic at a previous chokepoint, it will provide maximum utility for the residents by uplifting the whole area, says Khwaja Ahmed Hassan, Chairman Task Force Lahore Road Rehablitation Project, I).

The interchange will greatly benefit the people of Lahore by improving the city’s traffic flow. The Mughalpura crossing – accommodating bulk of the city’s traffic, was a choke point where even the ambulances were held up in the traffic jams. The majestic flyover now conveniently connects the city with cantonment. On the canal side; the underpasses convert the canal bank road into a fast moving signal free corridor. Commuters to the Shalimar Gardens, Jallo Park and Mughalpura Dry Port will be much facilitated by the facilities of the Interchange.

{Written by Husain Qazi and X-Posted from Light Within}

Shifting Lahore

Once the best address in Lahore was “the Lahore Fort,” now it is “the Defence. Only in past few decades, Lahore has grown rapidly (doubling in size in last ten years) to become an impressive cosmopolitan metropolitan. From a walled city — the posh locality of the time when Mughal Kings, Princes and Princesses used to roam about there, Lahore has grown into new localities like Defence Hosing Society and beyond. Though promenading along the canal, between the Mall Road and the Jail Road, shining in pristine glory at night through the heart of city,Main Boulevard or the Mall gives an idea of architectural style, prosperity and aesthetic sense of its citizens but it does not give all.

Lahore’s urban expanse has expanded into adjoining suburbs and has consumed many villages and agricultural land. The expansion, unplanned at that, has converted Lahore into a city where all civic amenities are over burdened left with no more carrying capacity. And a plethora of city development agencies, LDA, WASA, TEPA, WAPDA, PTCL, the Lahore Horticultural Authority, the Cantonment Board, the Model Town Society, the Defence Society, MCL, and District Administration (and more) with overlapping and ill defined roles and no body to oversee and coordinate their work, seem helpless to do any thing for the worsening plight of its residents. The officials of different departments blame every thing on lack of funds and lack of co-operation from other departments or accept the problems as hazards of urbanization,” say a political activist.

Lahore started expanding during the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-58) but declined in importance during the reign of his successor, Aurangzeb. The old city, now called Walled City or Undroon Shahr has narrow winding alleys and bazaars. It is unique in the sense that its layout is not geometrical and its winding alleys end abruptly at some intersection. Houses are adjacent to each other with balconies towards the street and courtyards in the middle. Rooftops are used as sitting places or now for flying kites on the eve of Basant.

The city started spilling out of the wall in the British time. In 1846, the British army entered Lahore after defeating Sikhs at Challianwala and Gujrat. The British troops were stationed in Lahore Fort and in the barracks left by Sikh Khalsas in an area that later came to be known as Lower Mall — from Tollinton Market to Punjab Secretariat. At that time, that area was known as Anarkali Station. The present day Anarakai Bazaar was then known as Sadar. British troops were also housed in Taxali area.

The British demolished the fortification wall around the city of Lahore and filled the protective trench circling it. They also razed three historical gates (Lohari, Shah Alami and Delhi) and widened the street to install artillery on top of them. Lange Mandi and Gumti Bazaar are considered to be the most ancient part of the Walled City. The old city is spread over 2.5 squares of land and Cantonment was the first intervention of the British in the old city, which drastically changed the face of Lahore: the layout of streets, architecture of buildings and houses and the way people lived.

Among the first modern buildings of Lahore was included Combined Military Hospital built in 1854. Close to cantonment, towards north, a “new” Sadar bazaar was established where locals could open businesses to provide services and goods troops and their families. In Sadar, houses were built with bricks in straight streets with sewage lines on two sides. Later, the middle class of adopted this layout and architecture for their new housing colonies: Gowalmandi, Krishan Nagar and Muhammad Nagar. The influential class followed the style of British officers’ bungalows and Dewan Khem Chand founded Model Town on this pattern.

The Mayo Gardens and GOR (government officers’ residences) were established for civilian officers. This area was called Civil Lines. The Civil Lines in Lahore is spread over area from McLeod Road to west of the city and on the east of the canal and from railways station to Jail Road. In Chauburji, quarters for low ranking civilian officials on Sadar’s pattern were built.

The concept of Civil Lines brought a major societal change in the city’s culture. But when after the independence, local officers occupied these bungalows, the area got crowded. The wide tree-lined streets at the Queens Road, the Egerton Road, the Davis (Sir Agha Khan) Road, the Lawrence Road and the Montgomery Road became busy and congested commercial centres. After 1947, the Lahore Improvement Trust followed the tradition of Civil Lines and founded new housing schemes on the pattern of colonies. Samanabad and Gulberg were two such residential districts established in the 1950s.

Since the establishment of Civil Lines, Lahore’s middle class also started coming out of the Walled City and established new neighborhood at that time such as what is known as Old Anarkali, Gowalmandi, Shalimar Town and Misri Shah. In the beginning, civic amenities were not provided to them. Now almost half of the city is consisted of such residential areas. They are different form the old city in that they have wide roads of 10-15 feet where cars can go and the layout of these areas is geometrical unlike that of old city. Houses in these colonies are a mix of old and new. They have courtyards but unlike bungalows they are adjacent to each other. Shops are located in streets near houses unlike isolated houses of the civil lines. These houses are rightly said to represent the historical ‘neighbouring’ concept of the Subcontinent. As these residential areas sprang up without any planning, they also represent an important trend of ‘unplanned growth of cities in this region.

Electricity was introduced to the city in 1920. In 1930s came another change in the development of middle class localities and areas like Krishan Nagar and Sant Nagar were established. They were planned, geometrical in layout and had parks, sewage and drinking water facilities. In the houses in these areas, roofs of the rooms were high like British bungalows. These housing areas were an improved version of the old architecture of Lahore.

The partition brought a radical change in the culture of Lahore. At that time, 40 per cent of the population of Hindus and Sikhs migrated from the city to India. Now some low-income residential areas of Wasanpura, Gujarpura and Mohni Road came into existence, which were inhabited by low income class.

Although the official regulations prohibit commercial activity in residential areas, the government itself is big violator of these laws and provincial and federal departments established their offices there and private sector came up with every type of commercial concern and the old concept of residential-cum-commercial area, which is deeply rooted in our culture and tradition, sprang up in neighbourhoods.

Along side these, in 1980, Lahore’s 23 per cent population lived in katchi abadis (slum areas). In 1986, the government tried to regulate them and provided ownership rights and civic amenities to these areas but not all of them could get them.

So far the soul of the city has survived though open spaces, greenery and peace are vanishing from the city. We can reverse the process through planning, preservation and by looking forward.

Ya, Lahor(ye)

The morning rush hour is from 6am to 12pm

The evening rush hour is from 2pm to 9pm. Saturday’s rush hour starts Friday morning.

You buy anything and everything from Al-Fatah

Your 'maassee' and driver have taught you fluent Punjabi

Your uncivilized next door neighbor just bought a BMW because he deals in property

A really souped up Civic stops next to you and instead of a groovy exhaust sound, the woofers blare out an Abrar number

At least one of your friends is a Butt

The people in your local Gourmet Bakery know you by face

The only solution to boredom is eating out

All directions start with, ‘Go down to Main Boulevard’

You think it’s okay to wait 5 hours in the queue for Bashir’s Fish in Mozang because he only opens 6 months in the year

You go to Shahjamal every Thursday to smoke weed with Pappu Saaeen

Its quite all right to run a red light if the traffic policeman doesn’t have a bike to chase you

When someone asks you ‘’Bhai yeh Fortress kahaan hai?'’, you spread an evil grin on your face and send him to Johar Town

If you are hungry at 3 in the morning, you go to Coffee Tea & Co in your pajamas instead of walking to your kitchen

Your cousins from Karachi ask you about Food Street and you say, ‘I went there back in 2003′

Your winning argument about how Lahore is better than Karachi is ‘Lahore Lahore aey’

Your childhood dream of attaining higher education was to go to Aitchison or Kinnaird

You always thank the rude shop owner because he actually let you buy something from his shop

You know it’s inevitable that you’ll be challaned on Mall Road.

Your cousins from America ask you about malls and you’re like ‘Yeah we have Pace, but I never go there’

You go to the Daewoo stand more than the airport

(Thanks Maryum)

You can add more…

This is Lahore