KARACHI, Feb 5: A plastic neon sign, emblazoned with the name of a multinational company, now adorns the façade of the Cantonment Station, the building of which is protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act (SCHPA).

A staircase has also been added to what many consider to be one of the most impressive pre-partition colonial-style buildings in the city.

Both of these additions have been made by the multinational company after getting permission from the railway authorities in Lahore. The railway authorities in Karachi say they have protested against the additions, which have adversely affected beauty of the stone building.

The permission has to be sought from the Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs, headed by Sindh chief secretary, before any construction/alteration is carried out at a protected building.

Karachiites wonder whether the railway authorities cannot afford getting a signboard affixed at its facility and had to seek a tobacco company’s help in this regard.

The stairs have been built to provide customers access to the food outlets established in some corner rooms of the building and rented out to another multinational concern, a fast-food chain.

Sources say the PR management in Karachi has expressed concern over the additions and written to the commercial department in Lahore pointing out that the additions had disturbed the beauty and symmetry of the building. However, the PR authorities in Lahore have not even bothered to respond to the communication, the sources added.

This is not the only case of its kind. A multinational company which is providing hand pumps to the people of Thar Desert had applied the colour scheme of one of its products on the historic well of legendary Marvi.

The act had offended villagers of the area who staged protest demonstrations and forced the company to restore the well’s original colour.

Similarly, the over-enthusiastic Auqaf Department officials, on the eve of Gen Pervez Musharraf’s visit to the Mazar of Allama Iqbal, changed the colour of the outer walls of the historic Badshahi Mosque, next to the Mazar, ruining the beauty of the natural pink texture of the sandstone from Jodhpur, India.

The Archaeology Department itself, while clearing the ground at the Mughal emperor Jehangir’s Tomb in Lahore, set the grass on fire. The fire was put out before it could harm the beauty of the monument.