LAHORE: The 400-year-old Begum Shahi Mosque, one of the finest and most beautiful mosques built during the Mughal regime, is headed towards ruin owing to negligence on part of the authorities concerned.
The mosque has been surrounded by encroachments from all sides – a rim market on one side, Moti Bazar on the other and houses all around.
The mosque, originally built 10 feet above the ground, has now sunken four feet below the standard point.
Talking to Daily Times, Hafiz Maqsood Ahmad, who has been the imam of this mosque for the last 15 years, said that the mosque was last repaired during the tenure of Ayub Khan who had allocated Rs 35,000 for its renovation. After that, none of the governments ever spent even a single penny for the preservation of this 400-year-old historical emblem, he said, adding that some locals, in 2006, on basis of self-help constructed the marble floor of a compound.
The mosque is under the supervision of Archaeology Department but only on papers, he said, pointing out that no representatives from the department had ever visited the mosque to check its dilapidated condition for the last 15 years. He said that water seepage from the houses surrounding the mosque was also damaging its foundation. The sewerage system of the mosque too was in ruins that had destroyed its walls, Ahmad explained.
The worshipers of this mosque said that the Auqaf Department was well aware of its worsening condition and the illegal encroachments built around it
Blaming the auqaf and archaeology departments for the mosque’s devastated condition, locals said they feared the building would soon be reduced to complete rubble if the authorities did not pay due attention to it.
When contacted for comment, Archaeology Department Deputy Director Maqsood Ahmad Malik said that the department had done its level best for the mosque’s conservation by utilising all available human and financial resources.
He said that major efforts for its conservation were made in 1960, however, the Punjab government in its recent master plan for renovation of Lahore Fort also generously approved Rs 59 million for the removal of encroachments around Begum Shahi Mosque.
Malik said the department also had plans to refurbish the mosque’s surroundings that would also give a better view to the nearby Akbari Gate of the Lahore Fort.
He said that the Archaeology Department had already requested the City District Government Lahore to launch an evacuation programme in area surrounding the mosque, compensation cost of which would be paid through Rs 59 million granted for the mosque in the Lahore Fort’s renovation plan.
An international expert mission to the World Heritage property of Begum Shahi Mosque by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre also expressed grave concern over encroachments surrounding the mosque, Malik confirmed.
The mosque, also called Mariam Zamani Masjid, was built inside the Masti Gate by emperor Akbar’s wife, Mariam Zamani, in 1614.
The mosque was built to provide a place of worship for the royal family’s women and was linked with the Lahore Fort through a tunnel, which the women used to reach the inner compound of the mosque. The mosque was famous for two of its features – the domes constructed over the central hall of the mosque and the mosaic work on its walls and ceiling.
Most of the mosques that were built during the Mughal era had resemblance due to similar designs and architectural features