Govt plans to demolish historic Vakil Manzil
House Hosted Jinnah, Iqbal, Muslim Conference Office
by M HYDERI
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Srinagar, Jan 14: Notwithstanding the government claims of reviving the lost glory of old Srinagar city –the Shahr-e-Khaas –the administration is all set to demolish over a century old historic building at Zaina Kadal which has hosted personalities including Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal apart from being the office of Muslim Conference, the party which ultimately transformed into the present National Conference.
The house in question is Vakil Manzil, near Zaina Kadal Bridge in the old city, and the demolition is presumably for road widening.
The controversial move has popped up at a time when the government has been talking tall to conserve the old city heritage sites.
THE PLAN:
Official documents reveal that the government plans to procure the house from its owner and prominent political figure of the area, Muhammad Yaqub Vakil, for the proposed road widening. The documents reveal that on 30th of last month, Vakil was directed to attend a high level meeting at the office of Divisional Commissioner.
Officials while confirming the meeting said it was chaired by District Development Commissioner Baseer Ahmed Khan who is understood to have told Vakil that his house was coming in the way of the circular road project.
Vakil says the DDC told him that he would be given Rs 90 lakh as compensation for the five storey house on some two kanals of land.
THE HERITAGE STRUCTURE:
The government plan to demolish the structure seems to be in stark violation of the Jammu and Kashmir Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act 2010.
“The Act puts this particular building under legal protection and therefore cannot be damaged,” says Muhammad Saleem Baig, who heads the state chapter of INTACH, a prominent organization into heritage conservation in the country.
Baig, a former bureaucrat, who is aware of the government plan, says leave apart demolition even no “alteration or intervention of the architectural integrity of the building can be carried out without prior consultation with the authority constituted to implement the Act in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The INTACH head and expert on heritage conservation confirmed that Muhammad Yaqub Vakil’s house and even some others in the vicinity are Heritage Property as they have been listed by the INTACH under the National Register Program to identify such structures.
POST CARD ATTRACTION:
The importance of the building could be gauged from the fact that in 1980s, the government had used its picture in the backdrop of Zaina Kadal Bridge to promote tourism by getting it printed on post card.
Vakil, the proud owner of this house, still holds a copy of this post card close to his heart.
“How will I allow the demolition of this house which has been of immense importance since the days it was built by our ancestors?” Vakil told Greater Kashmir while showing the old post card.
THE HOUSE FEATURES:
A magnificent structure, it was among the best riverside buildings. Observes said those days the grandeur of a house was depicted from the number of windows, traditionally called Taakh.
“For that matter this house was the plush villa of its times because it had as many as 18 Taakh,” explained a heritage expert.
VAKIL’S CONSERVATION PLEA:
Vakil said he would handover the house to government only on the condition if it is procured for conservation as a heritage building.
“But this deal too will be subject to the cost I ask, not Rs 90 lakhs which are nothing more than peanuts for such a huge building with deodar wood worth crores used in it,” he said. “Our ancestors had been so keen about the construction of this house that they had ensured that nothing except knotless deodar, something rare nowadays, was used in its construction,” Vakil explained while pointing towards the prized wood used in the house construction.
“But demolition of this house, I shall never ever allow and will be the last person to bear any such government move,” he said.
source;Greater kashmir
House Hosted Jinnah, Iqbal, Muslim Conference Office
by M HYDERI
Smaller Default Larger
Srinagar, Jan 14: Notwithstanding the government claims of reviving the lost glory of old Srinagar city –the Shahr-e-Khaas –the administration is all set to demolish over a century old historic building at Zaina Kadal which has hosted personalities including Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal apart from being the office of Muslim Conference, the party which ultimately transformed into the present National Conference.
The house in question is Vakil Manzil, near Zaina Kadal Bridge in the old city, and the demolition is presumably for road widening.
The controversial move has popped up at a time when the government has been talking tall to conserve the old city heritage sites.
THE PLAN:
Official documents reveal that the government plans to procure the house from its owner and prominent political figure of the area, Muhammad Yaqub Vakil, for the proposed road widening. The documents reveal that on 30th of last month, Vakil was directed to attend a high level meeting at the office of Divisional Commissioner.
Officials while confirming the meeting said it was chaired by District Development Commissioner Baseer Ahmed Khan who is understood to have told Vakil that his house was coming in the way of the circular road project.
Vakil says the DDC told him that he would be given Rs 90 lakh as compensation for the five storey house on some two kanals of land.
THE HERITAGE STRUCTURE:
The government plan to demolish the structure seems to be in stark violation of the Jammu and Kashmir Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act 2010.
“The Act puts this particular building under legal protection and therefore cannot be damaged,” says Muhammad Saleem Baig, who heads the state chapter of INTACH, a prominent organization into heritage conservation in the country.
Baig, a former bureaucrat, who is aware of the government plan, says leave apart demolition even no “alteration or intervention of the architectural integrity of the building can be carried out without prior consultation with the authority constituted to implement the Act in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The INTACH head and expert on heritage conservation confirmed that Muhammad Yaqub Vakil’s house and even some others in the vicinity are Heritage Property as they have been listed by the INTACH under the National Register Program to identify such structures.
POST CARD ATTRACTION:
The importance of the building could be gauged from the fact that in 1980s, the government had used its picture in the backdrop of Zaina Kadal Bridge to promote tourism by getting it printed on post card.
Vakil, the proud owner of this house, still holds a copy of this post card close to his heart.
“How will I allow the demolition of this house which has been of immense importance since the days it was built by our ancestors?” Vakil told Greater Kashmir while showing the old post card.
THE HOUSE FEATURES:
A magnificent structure, it was among the best riverside buildings. Observes said those days the grandeur of a house was depicted from the number of windows, traditionally called Taakh.
“For that matter this house was the plush villa of its times because it had as many as 18 Taakh,” explained a heritage expert.
VAKIL’S CONSERVATION PLEA:
Vakil said he would handover the house to government only on the condition if it is procured for conservation as a heritage building.
“But this deal too will be subject to the cost I ask, not Rs 90 lakhs which are nothing more than peanuts for such a huge building with deodar wood worth crores used in it,” he said. “Our ancestors had been so keen about the construction of this house that they had ensured that nothing except knotless deodar, something rare nowadays, was used in its construction,” Vakil explained while pointing towards the prized wood used in the house construction.
“But demolition of this house, I shall never ever allow and will be the last person to bear any such government move,” he said.
source;Greater kashmir
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