ISLAMABAD, March 4: Though 2011 has been declared Faiz Ahmed Faiz year, an under construction auditorium named after him in the capital is facing decay because of lack of funds and heavy rains.Started three years, the construction of auditorium in the premises of Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) was to be completed by February 13 this year, to coincide with the centenary birth anniversary of Faiz. But because of funds' paucity, work on the auditorium was stopped in February 2009.
“It would not be very pleasant if the auditorium is not completed during the Faiz year,” PAL Chairman Fakhar Zaman told a press conference here on Friday.He said Rs40 million had been allocated for the project but only half of it had so far been released. He vowed to ensure completion of the auditorium within three months after the release of the remaining funds.
He said any 'unnecessary' delay in providing funds would not only lead to deterioration of the auditorium's structure, but also force revision of PC-1 due to escalating cost of building material.
Mr Zaman plans to send 'summaries' to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani seeking instructions for the 'relevant authorities' for immediately releasing funds.
He pointed out that on the special instructions of the president 2011 has been declared as Faiz year. The main event will be an international conference on Faiz in the third week of May in Islamabad.
President Zardari will be invited to chair the inaugural session of the four-day conference, while Prime Minister Gilani will preside over the concluding session. He said scholars from Holland, Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Uzbekistan, Canada, United States, Denmark, India, Czech Republic, Saarc countries and other parts of the world will be invited to present papers on Faiz. He said the papers read on Faiz will be published in the form of a book.
Zaman also announced 'Faiz Ahmed Faiz Award' on poetic work in any Pakistani language or English, carrying Rs100,000 for the winner.