RAWALPINDI: In line with the vision of the founders of the trust that owns the land, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) will be renovating a complex on four acres owned by the Lansdowne Trust, which will include a cinema, a park and an art gallery.

The Lansdowne Trust was founded by two brothers, Sardar Kirpal Singh Rai Bahadar and Sardar Sujan Singh Rai Bahadar, in 1891 to provide entertainment and educational facilities to citizens. In 1897, it was transferred to the then Rawalpindi Cantonment Board Committee and since then RCB has been looking after its affairs.

Though the trust owned a lot more land, over time the area it owned reduced to four acres. RCB’s offices are also established on the trust’s land, from which it gets Rs400,000 each month as rent from the civic authority.

RCB had tried to raze the old building in 2011 but did not get permission from the General Headquarters (GHQ) to construct a multi-storey building which is in close proximity to Military Hospital and other military installations. The civic authority has once again come up with a proposal to use it as a cultural hub.

The Odeon Cinema, Cantonment Library and the Shah Baloot Park on The Mall were built a long time ago on the land owned by the trust.

“The over 120-year-old Odeon Cinema will be reconstructed and be made into a modern cinema, much like the one in Jinnah Park,” a senior RCB official told Dawn.

He said the art gallery would be constructed in the main cinema building as well and that the library’s building will be renovated with the new building also housing new books and better facilities.

The open space which serves as a storage area and a junkyard at the back of the old cinema and library will be turned into a food park and a play area for children, the official added.

For this purpose, he said, a proposal had been sent to the engineering branch of GHQ and that an engineer had surveyed the area and given suggestions. After the engineering branch sends in its report, funds will be arranged.

When asked, RCB spokesperson Qaiser Mehmood said though the civic authority had not established a multi-storey building in the area, the land would be used to facilitate the people.

“People will want to watch movies and spend time in a better environment from which RCB will obviously be earning money,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2016