LAHORE, Nov 23: The policy of restoring the Civil Secretariat to its original shape by demolishing all that comes in the way has reportedly been extended to GOR-I, especially the Chief Secretary House, where no chief secretary now lives for fear of having to vacate it upon his transfer.

Like in the recent past, the colonial-designated Aikman Road’s Chief Secretary House is being used as the camp office of the chief secretary who is occupying another official residence on Shannon Road. The practice doesn’t look strange to many government officials because they take it as a bureaucratic tradition.

But what is bothering them most is the beginning of a drive to restore the secretariat to its original look. They claim that a small mosque called Anwar Zahid Masjid, named after a former chief secretary, has been demolished in the dead of night. Some quarters of low-grade employees too have been demolished and the officials concerned claim that they have been given alternate residences in other GORs in the city.

“Yes, there are other mosques but employees of the chief secretary’s house and other nearby residences would go to that mosque to say prayers. It reminded us of Mr Anwar Zahid who is considered one of the best chief secretaries of Punjab,” an official said.

Officials claim that the link Aikman Road too has been blocked to prevent people from going near the chief secretary’s residence and see what is being done to it. The road is blocked with concrete barriers which are being manned by armed policemen, they claim.

An official said a new mosque would be built at the site of the old one. But he could not explain the reason of spending money on a thing which already existed and conducting the operation clean-up at night.

He said the blockade of the link Aikman Road was a part of the overall security plan being designed for the GOR-I. “Only the higher-ups know about the security plan,” he said when asked about its details.