On my first visit to Rome in 1979, I went looking for the place in the ruins of the old city where ‘ Nero was playing his flute while the city was burning. He was the fifth Emperor of Rome who died in the year 68. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius and then succeeded him to the throne. Some historians believe that he instigated the great inferno that engulfed the city. Unfortunately, the city of Lahore has been run by our own ‘Neros’ who have caused its decline. As a child growing up on the Mall very close to the seat of power in the historic building of the Lahore Municipal Corporation (LMC) called Town Hall, unfortunately I lived through the silent plunder of this great city that has the unique distinction of producing six Nobel Laureates. Although the Corporation started to work in 1931, there is a long history which cannot be covered in one article, here the period under discussion is from 1985 to date. Whether the ‘Lord Mayors’ who ruled during this period were Nero’s of Lahore is the big question?
Every morning when I walked to school on the Mall from the Anarkali intersection towards the High Court building, the city was clean and tidy. Garbage had been removed, streets washed, public transport was plying, every locality had a functional school run by the municipality. The Lahore Omnibus Service (LOS) was designed on the lines of the London Transport System which covered the entire length and breadth of the city. An officer of the LMC now MCL (Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore) was sent to the United Kingdom to study its public transport system and then replicate it in the city of Iqbal. There was an LOS Depot near Mozang Chungi from where the buses started every morning. There were special routes for the important schools in the city. Education and transport of the city was well covered.
The Fire Brigade also operated from there. There was an effective public complaint system as well. In the 1960s BNRs (Bureau of National Reconstruction) were started which provided reading and sports facilities to the youth under the banner of the Young Folks League. Cricket, Badminton and Table Tennis facilities were provided on the grounds of the Town Hall and the surrounding Gol Bagh was later named Nasser Bagh during the Islamic Conference held in the city in the 1970s.
Neros can either burn or plunder but cannot restore the glory of Lahore. Bhutto called the city the ‘Leningrad’ ( St Petersburg now ) of Pakistan which has been the home of all the movements including the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. With the direct election of the Mayor, the 7.5 Million voters of the city can get rid of the Neros and elect able and honest leadership to lead from the historic Town Hall located on the lower end of the Mall Road. Let the crusade begin from ‘Data Ki Nagri’.
While the Town Hall was the nucleus of the city, several departments branched off from here which include Lahore Improvement Trust (currently LDA), Excise and Taxation Department, Settlement and Rehabilitation Department (Now BOR) etc. together with several town councils. While the city land was encroached, the Neros of Lahore played the fiddle. There was a park across the Civil Secretariat which had several slides and was named ‘ Ghaisi Park ‘ by the kids who played there, which was taken over to build the Planning and Development Department. The Doongi Ground on M.M. Alam Road was almost devoured to build a Cinema Complex but later turned into a library due to public outcry and change of government. The historic Punjab University Grounds near Old Campus were known for the Cricket Pitch and the Hockey Stadium but now in ruins, turned into a dump for building the Metro Bus.
In Rome, Nero wanted to burn the Republic while in Lahore they were able to build their own empires. A Punjabi proverb describes the situation in Rome as; Na Khaidaan Gay Na Khaidan Dawaan Gay ( Neither will we play nor let you play ). In Lahore it is covered by ” Ahnaa Wanday Rerorian Mur Mur Apnay Ghar” (Blind man distributed the sweets again and again amongst his own kin).
The Neros of Lahore over the years have built huge empires that include Universities, Colleges, Schools, Hospitals, Television Channels, Plazas, Housing Societies together with land encroachments by the Qabza Groups. The Elahi Buksh Clinic, where Colonel Elahi Buksh, the personal physician of the father of the nation, is buried was forcibly taken over by the rogue elements. Even a large parcel of land has been allegedly encroached by the Sharif Complex in Jatti Umra. The Urban Transport Depot on Ferozepur Road in the Garden Town area was dug up to build a huge complex but with the change of government it was taken back, it now poses a serious security risk for the people living around. Large tracts of Punjab University New Campus land have been encroached upon to build private farms and Dera’s.
The movement for the restoration of the city of Lahore has to be launched in the Town Hall where it all started. If Neros manage to seize control of the city yet again it will continue to sink. Lahore has always been the trend setter of the country. Change has to start from here. ‘Riasat-e-Lahore’ has to be built on the lines of the first Welfare State of the world that was created in Madinah where no one sleeps hungry at night together with education, health and employment ensured for every resident.
Neros can either burn or plunder but cannot restore the glory of Lahore. Bhutto called the city the ‘Leningrad’ (St Petersburg now) of Pakistan which has been the home of all the movements including the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. With the direct election of the Mayor, the 7.5 Million voters of the city can get rid of the Neros and elect able and honest leadership to lead from the historic Town Hall located on the lower end of the Mall Road. Let the crusade begin from ‘Data Ki Nagri’.
