Historic Kalai crumbles again
Cry for probe into faulty repairs goes shriller, Govt silent
Within a week, another portion of the historic Kalai, the 16th century Mughal city rampart has collapsed raising eyebrows over the recent repairs of this protected monument.
This time the rampart towards the left of the KathiDarwaza a gate into the walled area has crumbled. Locals and witnesses said the rampart has collapsed exactly where repairs were undertaken in the past few years.
Earlier, on March 10, this year, a portion onto the right of the Mughal gate had collapsed.
The wall which emerged rock strong since its construction during the regime of Emperor Jalal-Ud-Muhammad Akbar has weakened past 21st repairs undertaken by Kashmir’s tourism department.
The Tourism department had undertaken repairs, as a part of its conservation measures for this landmark, declared a Protected Monument, half a decade ago.
This wall in ChoonaSurkhi snakes through the heels of Koh-e-Maran in the old City, the Shaher-e-Khaas. The portion of City inhabited in Kalai interiors is known as Kalai Ander.
In 2012, as a part of a centrally funded scheme, the Tourism department started Kalai facelift, which has gone faulty hinting towards a scam worth millions.
A KathiDarwaza inhabitant and RTI activist DrMushtaq Ahmed Khan accused the Tourism department of having minted millions in the garb of Kalai facelift even as he and other locals demanded probe into the matter.
“Forget technicalities there are apparent faults in the repairs, which even a layman can ascertain,” the locals said.
Five years ago the state government declared the Kalai a protected monument. “In exercise of powers conferred under section (1) of section 3 of the JK Ancient Monument Protection Act ,Samvat 1977(1922Ad) Act no V, the Government hereby declared the ancient monument Hariparbat wall (Kalai) situated around Hariparbat Fort as bearing Khasra no 16,229,328,510, 527, and 562 as the protected monument with the meaning of the said Act,” states the notification issued by the government way back in 2010.
The 4.75 KM long Kalai is already facing encroachments while stretch between the three main gates –the Kathi, Bachi and SangeenDarwazas –is worst hit.
Historians believe that during the Mughal era when emperor Akbar and his royal family constructed this wall around the part of the then City in the heels of the Koh-e-Maran hills, it must have been difficult for people to even the touch the royal creation without permission. In the past few decades however, it has been vandalized.
District Development Commissioner, Farooq Ahmed Lone last week claimed to have ordered an inquiry into the previous collapse. While the report is awaited, Kalai has crumbled again. (To be concluded)
