LAHORE: The Punjab government has assigned the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) with the task of preserving and conserving several buildings of religious importance in Punjab.

As per an Authority’s spokesperson on Monday, the buildings include eight shrines, one temple and six churches in Lahore and different parts of Punjab; the conservation work will be completed in 2022 and 2023, and the WCLA will be the executing agency. The shrines to be conserved by WCLA include Darbar Baba Farid-ud-din Ganj Shakar Pakpattan, Shrine of Hazrat Mian Meer, Shrine of Shah Husain, Shrine of Madhu Lal Hussain, Tomb of Baha-ud-din Zakriya, Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Shrine Hazrat Shah Shamas, Shrine Hazrat Bibi Pak Daman and Shrine of Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed, Kot Mithan.

The churches and temples for conservation are Shivala Mandir in Sialkot, Saint Francis Assai Sahowala in Sialkot, Presbyterian Church in Lahore, Saint Mary the Virgin Cathedral Church in Multan, Christ Church in Rawalpindi, Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in Lahore and Cathedral Church of The Resurrection in Lahore.

Commenting on the conservation work, WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said it was heartening to note that the Punjab government had started several religious tourism-related projects that year, and the Auqaf and Minority Affairs departments had chosen the WCLA as executing agency for conservation projects.

“We have started the conservation work on shrines, churches and temples in Lahore as well as in other parts of Punjab. All the necessary data gathering, research work and subsequent drawings are completed, and efforts will be made to return these buildings to their original conditions,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022