By Uzair Rizvi for TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: The city of Nawabs, is home to some of the most beautiful monuments of the Nawabi Era, their pristine architecture, and colossal structures have always enticed the locals and the tourists. However, it appears now that these magnificent monuments are neglected, and slowly crumbling under the onslaught of time, weather, and vandals.
Some of the structures have developed cracks. Their walls are scratched with uncaring visitors names, some cart away chunks of building materials from behind. Straggly wild plants stick out from niches in the walls like bizarre architectural adornments. Some other monuments are facing the apathy from the encroachers.
As per Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Lucknow circle data (tentative list), out of 59 centrally protected monuments in the city, 25 are encroached. The list includes the monumental Bada and Chota Imambada, Asafi Masjid, Picture Gallery, Shahnajaf and many more. The encroachments are both residential and commercial and those done mainly by the trusts or the caretakers.
Crumbling Walls and Architecture:
Most of the monuments are under negligence. The scar of negligence has led to cracks in walls of the monuments that are widening up by, which is threatening their existence. Plasters from the walls are coming off and stuccos are crumbling. Monuments like Tomb of Saadat Ali Khan in Hazratganj and Rumi Gate with visible cracks on their walls are gasping for life. The palace of Musabagh is in tatters, locals are using are quarrying the walls for building material.
Shahnajaf imambada- Back gate
Encroachment is adding another scar:
The entrance of both Tomb of Nawab Asaf-ud-daula (Asafi/Bada Imambada) and Tomb of Nawab Muhammed Ali Shah (Husainabad/Chota Imambada) is encroached by shops and eating joints. Many families live inside Bada Imambada and some in underground cells in the Asafi mosque.
Tomb of King Ghaziuddin Haider (Shahnajaf Imambada) in Hazratganj area, is occupied by the family members of the trustees who have been residing in the cells and have carried several constructions of residential houses over the years. In 2011, after hearing a PIL, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High court directed the district administration to remove the illegal occupants.
Shahnajaf Imambada.
However, the occupants challenged the order in the court, which stayed vacancy orders. The matter was passed onto the Hussainabad Trust (to which the property belongs) to move fresh orders after listening to the petitioners. After which another drive was conducted which failed to yield the desired results. Mohd. Nasir, a resident inside Shahnajaf said, “My forefathers served and lived in Shahnajaf, I will fight for my shelter” (Name changed on request).
Superintending Archaeologist Lucknow Circle PK Mishra said, “There are no ignored monuments under ASI, we look after every monument but some circumstances obstruct us to restore them, but we are trying our best to restore them. We also have to depend upon the state government or local administration for initiating any legal action against illegal occupants.”
Maqbara Saadat Ali Khan
What Law Says?
Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010, a prohibited area is 100 metres from the edge of the monument and the regulated zone is a further 200 metres beyond the prohibited area, violations can be punished by fine of Rs 1lakh and a two-year jail term.
Bureaucratic Tussle:
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Hussainabd Trust, which administer these monuments, are caught in bureaucratic tangles. Rapid urbanization and allotments made by Hussainabad trust within the monument premises is the chief reason for encroachments. There is no written agreement between the ASI and the Hussainabad Trust. However, section 6(1) of the AMASR Act, 1958, states an agreement between the owner/trustee and Central government within a specified period for the maintenance of the monument.
“The Trust was set up a century ago, with descendants of royal families as trustees. Today, itself the trust is in need of reconstructing as they are not interested in restoring the monuments”, said one of the members of Awadhi Royal family.
Sectarian Sensivity:
The issue of traffic diversion for the restoration of the widened cracks in Rumi Gate is still unresolved. A viable route called the link road near the Tiley Wali Masjid was sought to divert the traffic, however the Sunni masjid Imam Maulana Fazlul Rehman have reiterated that the traffic diverted from link road, (which is part of Sunni waqf) will cause damage to the century old mosque.
Imambada Sibtainabad
An official from ASI quoted, “Imambada belongs to one sect and the mosque belongs to different sect, so tackling communal face of this issue is always extremely tricky.” ASI, district Administration and Hussainabad Trust held several meetings to convince the Imam but they have failed to draw any conclusions.
Conservation architect A. Srivastava says, “A small crack could be fatal for these monuments and that will not take much time to spread to other parts and cause it to collapse.” On the other hand, a city-based historian Raushan Taqui – author of several books on Lucknow’s history – said, “These are very important monuments in terms of Lakhnawi history and culture, and everything should be done in order to protect and conserve them.”
City based lawyer Mohammad Haider had filed public interest litigation (PIL) in Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court in May 2013, which covered all the monuments that were defaced, and being encroached upon, the court directed the ASI and other concerned parties form a committee and review the problems stated in the PIL.