* CM says underpass will connect Tollington Market to museum
* Lahore and Bahawalpur museums being revamped, art and craft centre being made in Multan

LAHORE: The Punjab government will spend Rs 300 million each on Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation is considering removing the two World Heritage sites from the endangered buildings’ list after the Punjab government’s restoration measures, said Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the restored Tollington Market and prominent painter Ijaz Anwar’s painting exhibition, he said that he had brought the deteriorating condition of the two monuments to the president’s notice. He said the Rs 20 million yearly income from historical buildings would be spent on its restoration.

He said that Rs 50 million had been allocated to Lahore Museum’s maintenance, and its ceiling would be restored to its original form. He said that the Tollington Market museum would also host exhibitions of traditional arts and crafts of southern, Central and Potohari Punjab and would be connected to Lahore Museum by an underpass, which would have shops featuring Punjab’s arts and crafts. He said the building would be protected under the Punjab Special Premises Ordinance and the provincial assembly would pass a law in this regard.

He said Bahawalpur Museum’s extension was being completed expeditiously and a new gallery had been added to the museum. He said Rs 40 million had been spent to set up a new art and craft centre in Multan. He also announced a special project for the Walled City’s conservation.

He said a committee would be formed to prepare a report on Lahore’s important historical buildings such as the Laxami building. The chief minister said that the protection of historical heritage to pass it on to future generations was a collective responsibility.

He praised Ijaz Anwar’s services as a historian and a painter and congratulated him on holding an exhibition at Tollington after 142 years.

Ijaz Anwar said that the Walled City’s poor people did not want food streets but demanded protection for their houses and themselves. He said that Haveli Mian Khan’s remains were being demolished by Raju Pehelwan and local thugs and asked the chief minister to save the building. He said Lahore was more than 10 centuries old and should be on the World Heritage list. The chief minister saw the exhibition featuring 40 paintings and a large 1956 model motorbike. Cartoons by Ijaz’s father late Anwar Ali, known as Nana, were also displayed.

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) played a key role in the site’s restoration and the authority handed it over to Lahore Museum last year.