HARKING BACK: Lahore Fort’s tragic wall collapse... is there a silver lining?

On Tuesday last as Lahore, the alleged Paris of rulers past, suddenly became Venice minus their beautiful gondolas. The filling of rainwater in the ill-fated Orange Line tunnel under The Mall at the GPO, as also to other places, made a pitiful sight.

It was depressing to say the least. Luckily the pothole did not reach the nearby Supreme Court building, and no pun intended. To top it all the Lahore Fort’s eastern portion of the northern wall beyond the world’s longest ‘Wall Picture’ also caved in. Heritage took another massive hit. As was expected the Walled City of Lahore Authority did a superb PR job by alleging that the age of the wall was relatively recent. What can one say to such hogwash! The fact is that this portion of the wall was made in the time of Emperor Akbar. Yes the British-era archaeology department staff colony was built there, and Pakistan ‘contributed’ with yet another mosque inside the fort where two beautiful ones already exist, and nearby is the Badshahi Mosque. If you cannot confuse them, bamboozle them. It seems to have allayed fears of neglect, at least they think so.

But within each tragedy there has to be a silver lining, just as when the ‘Royal Kitchens’ collapsed earlier. It led to a reasonable conservation undertaking. It just shows that like the rest of Lahore even the fort does not have proper water disposal systems in place. It is no wonder that a sage said that ‘a civilisation is judged by the quality of its gutters’. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were managed better.

So let us deal with the tragedy at the Lahore Fort. We will stick to bare facts. The problem started when the drainage lines at this portion were diverted to the southern side. Modernisation they called it. Imagine a ‘contractors’ view’ of the world overtaking academically rigorous conservation rules. This meant that in the old system, which depended on gravity flow, water flowed out of disposal points protruding out of the walls. When a new system was made the flow direction of the old gravity model was not filled in properly. All that was done was to dump loose earth in the place where water once flowed naturally. No doubt the new system did function, but certainly not when the flow exceeded a limit.

So in the old place every time it rained portions of the old line would fill up and water would seep through. The water would, naturally, gather inside the old wall as no outlet existed. Where else could it go but remain inside the wall? Mind you a set of consultants did warn the LWCA about a future ‘probable problem’ erupting. Consultant reports are shelved and more of the same continues.

As I started getting details of the fort wall’s collapse, an expert who has my utmost respect, informed me - naturally “off the record” - that he was happy the fort wall had collapsed. There was a silence in our conversation. I knew from past experience that he was a very serious highly-educated person. “If you examine the wall collapse you will notice several layers of lime plastered construction a good 40 feet below the upper surface. This is very much in line with your theory that if one archaeological dig in 1956 (still officially a secret), could throw up pottery that was 4,500 years old, imagine what could be found if we dug deeper at this place”.

Oh, that for me was manna from heaven. For years this column has been trying to prove that Lahore is actually part of a series of dwellings that existed in the middle and late Harappa eras. I was informed that an expert is of the view that the lower plastering is very old. Surely, the LWCA, and the Archaeological Department, need to get samples carbon-dated. But then both these departments are at daggers drawn. That is academic excellence for you. This brings me to other areas of Lahore that need intense research, especially the Chuna Mandi area, which is the highest point of the mounds where old Lahore is located. Another location of immense interest is Mohallah Maullian, for this is probably the oldest in the old Walled City.

On a positive note it is good news that the Lahore High Court has managed to get police-backed teams to knock down new illegal plazas inside the walled city. One only hopes the judiciary keeps the heat on these traders and encourages all actions to protect our heritage. But the question is what needs to be done now? We also have the findings of the World Heritage Committee 2018 meeting at Manama in Bahrain.

The first step should be to ‘rebuild’ the lost wall in accordance with the structure details of the old wall. Yes, conservation is about what exists, or as the poet Faiz said: “What exists is our culture”. Rebuilding is different from building. If you follow the structure of the Shahi Hammam you will see small portions redone. They follow the original structure in integrity and face. This is what will also have to be done in the Lahore Fort.

But even more important is for the entire Lahore Fort’s water flows to be studied and aligned in accordance with its gravitational flow. The flow paths ‘must’ be lime-plastered so no seepage takes place and the use of cement and plastics is avoided. There was once a scare that the roofs of the Shish Mahal and other important structures within the fort suffer from seepage. This should be checked by at least two ‘independent’ experts. We should learn from the old gravity flow model that is the old walled city, which depended on the river flowing around it for disposal. Ever since the river meandered westward, disposal problems have existed. Mind you old Lahore has never had flooding problems.

So the tragic pothole over the Orange Train underground tunnel, and the Lahore Fort’s wall, are both timely reminders of the quality of civil works undertaken. The inspection of such civil works is where the trap lies. Political pressure, laced with goodies as they say, have dragged our beautiful city down. There is a need to follow the World Heritage Committee 2018 guidelines for the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens in strict compliance with the seven conditions set by them. If we do not, we are the losers. Does a choice exist? Should we let other threats loom?