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Pressure on history
Dawn Editorial
Monday, 20 Jul, 2009 | 12:48 PM PST |
An official report says that Lahore’s historical monuments are under threat from more than 3,000 people encroachers. — File
It is not difficult to see why there is a clash between attempts to preserve the past and the pressing needs of today. A growing population and its ever-increasing housing and other requirements put extraordinary pressure on historical monuments especially in a bustling city like Lahore where scores of such relics are struggling to maintain their original look and keep their extensive premises. An official report says that more than 3,000 people are encroaching on space that belongs to these monuments. Can the government do anything to rectify matters? Going by an official handout, authorities in Lahore appear all set to launch a massive anti-encroachment drive against those who illegally reside or do business in and around the city’s 124 historical monuments. All the concerned departments, including the police, are being mobilised to make the campaign effective.
The current drive should take note of a similar effort in 2007 when city authorities moved against encroachers, equipped with a Supreme Court order for their eviction. The resistance put up by the occupants was so strong and the hue and cry they raised so vociferous that the government had to backtrack after having removed only a fraction of the encroachments. Moreover, the little that was removed came back soon enough. In the absence of any official plan to provide the encroachers with alternative housing and business concerns, the latest drive will certainly meet a similar fate. The encroachers will not let this be an easy task for the government. They will resist the demolition squads and wait for encroachments to return even before the debris is removed. Any anti-encroachment drive, therefore, should not just involve bulldozers and batons but also plans to resettle those it displaces. Short of that, Lahore’s past and present will keep struggling to survive in an uneasy and uncertain coexistence.
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