LAHORE, Nov 2: A replica of the Gawalmandi Food Street on Fort Road is in final stages but its formal launch is in the doldrums.

The Gawalmandi Food Street that had been contributing towards promotion of the soft image of the country, particularly of Lahore, all over the world during the last one decade or so had fallen prey to the culture of “political intolerance” on Aug 6, 2009.

Around 10,000 people, earning their livelihood at the food street, lost their last hope when the Data Ganj Bakhsh Town administration pulled down its decorative gates. Though bosses of the ruling PML-N in Punjab describe the demolition operation as an effort to remove hindrance to “smooth flow’ of traffic, residents of the area believe they have been victimised for their political dissent.

After closing down the Gawalmandi Food Street, the need to have such a place was felt in the wake of criticism drawn from all parts of the country in particular and from all over the globe in general. Instead of re-launching the Food Street, a V-shaped off-shoot of the Fort Road was chosen last year to build its replica.

Having heritage landmarks like Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort and Hazoori Bagh in the vicinity, some 25 buildings around the Roshnai Gate were earmarked for the purpose. Services of a known architect were hired for designing the new venue and restoration and rehabilitation of the chosen buildings begun. In order to make the place more attractive to visitors and to keep its environment free from all kinds of pollution, it was planned to convert nearby thoroughfare into a pedestrian lane. A plot at the edge of the Badshahi Mosque was reserved for parking of vehicles from where special horse-driven carriages were to carry visitors to the Food Street. The plan had kindled a hope among the residents of adjoining areas to soon have business and employment opportunities. However, to their disappointment a ban was imposed soon on converting buildings on rest of Fort Road into eateries on the pretext of traffic issues.

According to residents of adjacent streets, most of the chosen buildings were either owned by multinationals or people close to the ruling party bigwigs in Punjab. — Text by Zaheer Mahmood Siddiqui and photos by Tariq Mahmood