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Lahore Fort turret collapse: PAD lab test shows iron used in 1974 repair

* PAD DG says rainwater rusted the iron to cause cracks

By Hina Farooq

LAHORE: The Punjab Archaeology Department (PAD) said the northeastern turret at Jahangir’s Quadrangle had collapsed because the Federal Archaeology Department (FAD) had used iron and substandard material for its repair and restoration in 1974.

PAD director general Shahbaz Khan, who is heading an inquiry committee on the turret’s fall, said, “Rainwater could have reached the iron, causing it to rust.” He said the water could also have helped the cracking process. He said the PAD had made a report in 2005 over the after effects of the earthquake but had found no cracks in the structure. He said a final report on the cause of the turret’s collapse was expected to be submitted to the Culture Department on Monday.

PAD officials said the inquiry committee had sent the debris of the turret to the laboratory for inspection. They said the laboratory detected the use of iron in the turret’s restoration. They said iron was not usually used in monuments’ repair. A PAD official said that if the quadrangle’s turret was weak, the FAD should have added it to the list of monuments in need of emergency repairs, which the department had given to the Untied Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2001. The UNESCO, in collaboration with PAD, had started a five-year conservation programme for the listed monuments.

The northeastern turret of Jahangir’s Quadrangle at the Lahore Fort collapsed on September 24 because of rain. The collapse started a blame game between the PAD and FAD. Both departments blamed each other of negligence in the repair of the turret. The FAD had handed over the control of the Lahore Fort to the PAD in 2004.

The roof of the Dewan-e-Aam at the Lahore Fort had collapsed in 1980, but archaeologists probing the matter could not find the cause of the collapse. They said the building was more than 400 years old and had collapsed due to age.

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