CM orders Punjab heritage department to renovate Lahori Gate soon

Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala), The 700-year-old pillar of the historic Lahori Gate of Quila Serai building, which collapsed after heavy rainfall on Thursday, has finally managed to catch the attention of the state government.

A team from Punjab tourism and heritage department, led by experts from Drona consultancy, visited the site on Monday to know the reasons behind the collapse of the building and also to plan its revival.

Experts from Drona consultancy conservation observed that the building collapsed due to vehicular traffic and illegal construction within 50 meters radius of the area due to which, it had tilted to the north.

Sultan Khan Lodhi resided in this historic building and Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji had also passed from under this bridge many times and accepted the offer to read namaz in the masjid near this building.

District authorities have sent orders to the families residing near to the historic building to evacuate their houses for sometime as the second pillar of the building has also tilted towards the houses and are on the verge of collapse. Police personnel have been deputed just to ensure people do not stand near the pillar.

Bhai Baldeep Singh who contested lok sabha elections on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket from Khadoor Sahib said the team had visited the site and asked about his plans to revive the building.

He asked the officials to hold a formal meeting where he would disclose his plan with a presentation. “We have made a proper plan with technical drawings and project report to revive the building, but this is not the proper place to describe my plans,” he said.

Navjotpal Singh Randhawa, director of Punjab tourism and heritage department, said they had orders from chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to repair the building on an emergency basis.
“We will make a detailed project report and the repair work to revive the building will be started soon,” he said.

The team also visited Hadira, a tomb of the Lodhi period lying in a dilapidated condition.