LAHORE: The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has decided not to do repair works at the Greater Iqbal Park after the damage caused by the April 29 PTI rally.

“There will be no benefit of getting such a huge repair work done immediately since another political party (JUI-F) has announced to hold a rally at the park on May 13. Therefore, we are of the view that if we complete the repair work before an upcoming rally, the venue may require another round of such works again,” a senior PHA official told Dawn. “That is why we want the entire repair work done after the JUI-F’s rally,” he added.

The Greater Iqbal Park project has recently been completed with billons of rupees cost. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the project last month.

After the PTI’s rally, the PHA prepared estimate of the damage to the park. “The park suffered over Rs2.3 million loss in terms of horticulture and engineering costs. The PTI workers badly damaged walkways, walkthrough gates, fountains, tiles, plants etc,” the official explained.

Answering a question, the official said they would send the bill to the PTI and “let see whether they pay or not.”

PTI’s Punjab president Abdul Aleem Khan had promised to pay for the damages a day after the PTI show.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2018