Chowk Yadgar or Remembrance Square, a landmark in the old walled city of Peshawar for well over a century, is now practically a forsaken square.

Originally built in 1883-84 in remembrance of the first British Commissioner of Peshawar, Col E.C. Hastings, and later rebuilt in the second half of the 1960s to commemorate the heroes of the 1965 Indo-Pak War, the once stately Chowk Yadgar is now a messy mass of traffic, encroachments and drug addicts.

Much has been written and spoken about the history of Chowk Yadgar which is as famous as Peshawar itself. Its location had been well chosen: it is the convergence point of various major roads and famous bazaars like Meena Bazaar, Sarafa Bazaar, Ader Shair, Ghanta Ghar and the bazaar of Ashraf Road.

According to renowned archaeologist, the late Ahmad Hassan Dani, the original memorial consisted of a domed pavilion raised on a high podium accessed by a flight of steps. On one of its sides, there was a fountain originally. This whole structure gave way to the existing one built after the 1965 Indo-Pak War.

The significance of Chowk Yadgar went beyond the commemoration of historical figures. It was also a Hyde Park of sorts where public meetings, rallies and protest demonstrations were held by different political and social groups agitated about various religious, political and international issues in the country.

Many anti-British protests and demonstrations for the struggle of independence had started out from this square. It was also a rallying point for political rallies during the 1965 Indo-Pak War.

But due to neglect by successive governments, Chowk Yadgar is now a headache for residents and visitors alike. The memorial structure itself has become a safe haven for drug addicts and a garbage dumping yard for encroachers. Traffic congestion in the area is the order of the day and commercial encroachments along the roads add to the disorganization.

Closure of the underground parking lot beneath Chowk Yadgar - due to fears of sabotage - and the closure of all but one of the roads leading to the Chowk have only made the situation worse.

The presence of three or four traffic policemen is of no help in regulating traffic and the sanitation staff of the town municipal administration is least bothered about removing the garbage from the area. Dr Adil Zareef, the head of Sarhad Conservation Network, an advocacy group that lobbies for conservation of architectural and cultural heritage in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, says that unplanned construction and the lust for money have destroyed historically important sites like Chowk Yadgar, a place which cannot be ignored by any visitor due to its rich background.

According to Dr Adil, there was once a very tall ancient tree which foreigners, particularly Japanese and Koreans, used to worship, but the city managers removed the tree and reshaped the structure in the name of development.

Dr Adil is against the destruction of old streets and heritage buildings in the name of constructing new roads, expanding space and uplift. He is also concerned about the dilapidated condition of the various historical gardens and roads in the city as well as the increasing pollution.

He says that the government should construct new roads, bypasses and spacious buildings outside the old city and not at the cost of our historical heritage. Instead of abolishing people's memories, he adds, the government should preserve ancient trees and historical gardens and buildings, and plan and build new localities elsewhere.

A renowned architect, Tahir Khattak, is of the opinion that the existing memorial structure at Chowk Yadgar could not serve the purpose for which it had been re-designed for.

“During the rainy season, the area becomes a pond where the movement of people becomes impossible. The encroachers have a strong network and there is no check by the authorities concerned,” he said.

Mr Tahir is against having a parking lot within the basement of the structure. He proposes the construction of a bypass road at the vegetable market and Rethi Bazaar sides so that traffic at Chowk Yadgar would be one way.

This, together with the permanent removal of encroachments, he opines, would solve the problems at Chowk Yadgar and help restore it to its former glory.

Policemen regulating the traffic at the Chowk say that smooth flow of traffic was impossible in the presence of horse-carts, handcarts, auto-rickshaws and vendors. They also propose the shifting of existing godowns from the commercial markets to somewhere outside the main city.

It is also the demand of trader leaders of the area, including Haji Tanveer Ahmed, Haji Nazeer Khan, Said Rehman, Samiuddin, Saleem Khan, Safdar and Shakeel Ahmed, that the government restores Chowk Yadgar to its historical position.