By Fazal Khaliq
MINGORA: The members of civil society organisations and culture activists have demanded of the provincial government to start rehabilitation of Government Post Graduate Jahanzeb College as promised by chief minister last year.
The demand was made in a meeting, held here on Wednesday on rehabilitation and protection of the historical college, constructed by last ruler of former princely Swat state Miangul Abdul Haq Jahanzeb in 1952-53.
On December 22, 2015, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in a meeting with the elders of Swat had promised to rehabilitate and preserve the historical building of Jahanzeb College, which developed cracks in the 2015 earthquake.
The participants of the meeting said that the historical college meant a lot for the people of Swat. They said that the college building was a symbol of enlightenment of the Swat state.
“Jahanzeb College is not only a structure but it is a symbol of civilisation. It shows that how cultured and civilised were the people and rulers of Swat state,” said Usman Ulasyar, the chairman of Suvastu Arts and Culture Association.
Culture activist Mahmood Aslam said that there were only few planned cities in the country when Pakistan came into being. “Saidu Sharif was the only planned and well-designed city in the country, established at international standard by the Swat state rulers and Jahanzeb College was one of its magnificent buildings where thousands of people studied and served in different fields across the world,” he said.
Mr Aslam said that the college was visited by several world leaders including Queen Elizebeth II and Fatima Jinnah. He said that the entire world preserved historical buildings, especially educational institutions.
Alamgir Khan, a resident of Saidu Sharif, said that the issue of the rehabilitation of the college must be taken up by the local government and provincial government. He added that other historical buildings constructed during the era of Swat state must be protected.
The meeting passed a resolution to demand of the government to protect and rehabilitate the historical portion of the college.
In its preliminary report issued by the Department of Civil Engineering University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar on February 10, 2016 it was recommended to carry out as-built condition investigation and detailed structural assessment of the building to evaluate the possibility of its economical retrofitting.
The report further recommended that the infiltration of water into the foundation soil shall be immediately stopped in order to minimize/avoid further aggravation of foundation settlement issue.
However, the KP government did not initiate any further move in the light of the report which caused uneasiness among the people of Swat.
