After the demise of Gawalmandi Food Street owing to political pressure in 2008, the Punjab government has planned to set up nine food streets to appease the traditional and continental food lovers, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to the plan, the proposed food streets will be established in Gulberg, Shalimar Town, Nishtar Town, Samnabad, Allama Iqbal Town, Wahgah Town, Aziz Bhatti Town, Ravi Town and Data Gunj Baksh Town.
In a meeting on Tuesday, Lahore Division Commissioner Nadeem Hassan Asif directed DCO Ahad Cheema to find suitable sites in the aforementioned towns. He also ordered construction of 50 playgrounds. The commissioner sought a complete survey and report within seven days, a senior official in the CM’s Secretariat told Pakistan Today. He said that the Punjab government had to close down Gawalmandi Food Street, once known as Heritage Street, because its administration headed by a PML-Q loyalist had refused to join the Shahbaz’ camp. Since then, the Punjab government had been under pressure by various circles to develop new food streets, he added.
An official in the DCO’s office said that the the Gawalmandi Food Street was closed to address the longstanding complaints of residents of the area that it had become difficult for them to move in and out of their homes during evenings when the street remained closed for vehicular traffic. The residents also complained about eve teasing, he added. He, however, said shutting down the food street was a politically motivated move.
He also said PML-N leaders did not like the food street’s management owing to its patronization by PML-Q. PML-N office bearers, seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that the matter would have been resolved had the food street shopkeepers agreed to pay extortion to the PML-N local leaders. A number of people living in Gawalamandi alleged that the Punjab government demolished the food street because it was established during former president Musharraf’s regime. They said that the government wanted to do away with the remnants of Musharraf.
“If traffic congestion was the issue, then why the government is not closing down the shops on Hall Road, Beadon Road, Rang Mehal, Kashmiri Bazaar, Suha Bazaar and many such places,” said Ashraf, a shopkeeper in the food street. He said the CDGL demolished his shop without any intimation. A Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) official said that Gawalmandi Food Street in Lahore was the first food street in Pakistan that was shut down three years ago.
Other food streets are the Anarkali Food Street, Melody Food Street and the food street in the Blue Area in Islamabad, Burns Road in Karachi and Cunningham Park in Peshawar. It was Kamran Lashari, former chairman of Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab, who put forward the idea of developing a food street and the project itself emerged as a joint venture between LDA and TDCP. Recreated by the PHA to recapture the idyllic, old-time atmosphere of the city, the 200-yard street in the heart of Gawalmandi on Chamberlain Road remained thronged with people of all ages. It was a reminder of the city’s vibrant past.
It was lined with kiosks ready to whet the customers’ appetite with barbecue and freshly cooked handis. With lighting of old buildings and balconies, the atmosphere was conducive. The food streets made a wide range of cuisine available in a single area. The middle class preferred dining at the food street owing to its economic nature and high quality. The site was surrounded by old buildings and places such as Landa Bazaar, Mayo Hospital and Baansanwala Bazaar.
Visitors used to arrive and stay until late at night. The traditional Kashmiri-Persian architecture could still be seen, used extensively in buildings surrounding that place. Food streets, and food parks, exist in several metropolitan cities in the country, and attending them has become a norm, with people using them for both formal and informal meetings.
