LAHORE: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has so far documented 15,000 of the total 22,000 properties inside the Walled City.

During the ongoing survey, the remaining 7,000 buildings are expected to be documented by the end of July, according to a spokesperson.

“To accomplish the survey, the WCLA hired 18 skilled persons, including town planners, engineers, architects and other experts. For a systematic approach, the area of the Walled City was divided into nine wards with seven teams to document them,” the spokesperson said in a press release.

The deliverables of this survey included detailed photographic documentation of the property, filling of forms with specific details, filtration of information for geographical information system and policymaking for the sake of protection of heritage buildings and reduction of potential life threats due to dangerous buildings.

Upon completion of documentation, the WCLA would start working on restoring these buildings in order to protect the culture and heritage of the Walled City.

According to WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari, such initiatives were important to save the heritage and original fabric of the city. “Such surveys will help prioritise the restoration work inside the Walled City,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2018