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Director-General UNESCO; Director/Representative UNESCO in Pakistan: STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN LAHORE. REROUTE ORANGE LINE

Director-General UNESCO; Director/Representative UNESCO in Pakistan: STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN LAHORE. REROUTE ORANGE LINE

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This petition has been created by Nadine Z. and may not represent the views of the Avaaz community.
Nadine Z.
started this petition to
Director-General UNESCO; Director/Representative UNESCO in Pakistan
Shalimar Gardens in Lahore (built 1641), a UNESCO protected world heritage site, is under severe threat from an elevated train and multiple lane road system currently being constructed by the Pakistan Government. We the world community, need UNESCO to intervene NOW to prevent irreversible damage to this historical site and the heritage of the City of Lahore.

We demand that the Pakistani government:

(1) Immediately suspend all construction work on the Orange Line Train project in order to review the project and to prevent further damage and destruction to the overall environment.

(2) Redesign the project with full consideration for heritage sites, vulnerable communities, and essential public spaces so that damage is minimised.

Lahore is a 2000-year old city with nearly 200 protected sites and buildings; this extraordinary city contains layers of Hindu, Muslim, Mughal, Sikh, Colonial, Christian heritage and is part of the living history of many more communities and cultures. It is a significant historical city, akin to Baghdad, Damascus and Palmyra in terms of its heritage value.

The proposed route for the rapid transit system threatens Shalimar Gardens (1641), Chauburgi, Gulabi Bagh Gateway (1655), Dai Anga's Tomb (1671), Buddhu ka Awa (mid 17th century), and colonial era buildings such as the University of Engineering and Technology campus, Lakshmi Mansions, New Age Mansions, the Art Deco residential enclave of Royal Park, the Lahore Cathedral, and various other structures. It outright demolishes a portion of the colonial, iconic General Post Office (1902), and will likely do so within days if we do not stop this.

The construction of this mammoth over- and under-ground system will permanently alter the local environment due to the excessive number of trees being cut, (many of which are hundreds of years old) and truncate streets and neighbourhoods. The effect on climate and infrastructure will affect every one of the 10 million inhabitants of the City, especially the poor and vulnerable, many of whom will also lose both home and livelihood.

The Pakistani government’s plan for the Orange Line violates both Pakistani law and international agreements pertaining to heritage, the environment, and sustainable development . By its own laws (National Antiquities Act 1975, and the Punjab Special Premises (Ordinance) Act 1985) neither the Government nor anyone else can build within 200 ft of a protected monument, but the proposed train corridor is less than 55 ft from a majority of protected monuments and in the case of the Mughal Gateway Chauburji, it is less than 30 ft. The elevated train line will be at the most 40-50 ft from the perimeter wall of Shalimar Gardens. Even if routing allows the train to go underground in front of Shalimar Gardens, it will pass directly below the fragile Mughal Waterworks and destabilize and likely destroy this structure. The current alignment of the proposed corridor obscures monuments in a sea of elevated concrete flyovers straddling heritage structures from either one or two sides.

We, the citizens of the world, urgently bring to UNESCO’s attention this flagrant disregard of heritage sites and irreversible destruction of the surrounding environment. We urge you to bear upon the impacts on vulnerable heritage sites, especially the Shalimar Gardens which has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 2000 till 2012.

We urge UNESCO to take the action necessary to save this extraordinary and ancient city from destruction.

Posted (Updated )