Dec 06 , 2015
News
Conservationists, govt officials discuss pros and cons of OMT
LAHORE: The commissioner and the government representatives in a meeting on Saturday discussed in details the pros and cons of Orange Line Metro project. The meeting, which was attended by Pervaiz Malik, Khwaja Hasaan, Zaeem Qadri, Archaeology secretary, NESPAK managing director, Tourism secretary, Momin Agha, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Chief Engineer Israr Saeed, and others discussed in detail about the fears and doubts about the damage to Lahore’s heritage. LDA started with a presentation on proposals for the Orange Line Train. This presentation confirmed the worst fears and doubts about the damage to Lahore’s heritage, people and environment. Architects Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Imrana Tiwana, and Dr Aijaz Anwar confirmed that the presentation showed the incompatibility of the proposed scheme with Lahore’s historic character, which highlighted the extent to which the metro project will further damage Pakistan’s image in the international community and with further burden of debt. Critical concerns raised by civil society included the displacement of historic communities and homelessness, destruction of historic buildings and poverty creation through land acquisition and removal of small businesses and shops. Civil Society activists were uncompromising in their demand that work on the Orange Line Metro be stopped immediately and reviewed. Khwaja Hasaan of PML-N proposed that a review commission be formed to continue the dialogue and reach a sustainable consensus with civil society and remove the demerits of the project. Representatives of civil society including Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Ch Aitazaz Ahsan, Imrana Tiwana, Nayyar Ali Dada, Prof Neelam Hussain, Muhammed Tehseen of SAP-PK, Bushra Khalique, Prof Fauzia Qureshi, Dr Aijaz Anwar as well as other stakeholders attended the meeting.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk