Punjab govt’s answer for love is…a train station?

By
Umar.Saleem
-
54
421

Punjab government is likely to convert historic Government College University (GCU)’s Logia Garden (renowned as the ‘Love Garden’) into a station for Rapid Mass Transit Bus Service and Lahore Development Authority is secretly holding negotiations with the varsity authorities in this regard, Pakistan Today learnt on Sunday.
Not only this, the LDA also plans to convert the university’s girls’ hostel that is situation opposite to the Civil Secretariat into a bus stand, sources further added.
The move was met with severe criticism from present and former Ravians from across the country while an SMS campaign was also launched against it.
The GCU administration is also not too happy with the suggestion, sources added.
“We are going to use Logia, the Oval and parts of the girls’ hostel too,” sources within the Punjab government said, adding that the cricket grounds would be used for construction also.
“We expect that the GCU administration would extend its full support to the move,” the sources added.
“We are not going to let them destroy any part of the university and we are trying to raise awareness at the international level,” an old Ravian said.
The Logia or the Love Garden was construed in the tenure’s of a great and renowned Principal Professor Saraj-ud-din in 1953 and after that it become the most peaceful and romantic place of the college. Few people know the story but legend has it that almost a century ago, a student ran away from his mathematics class and settled in the same garden. No one saw him out in the open again but they say he used to peep inside classrooms and amuse students who were being slaughtered by equations. He never left the place because he loved GC so they started calling him Love and that’s how the green came to be called “Love Garden.”
“Destruction of culture and civilisation to run trains through the city is hardly justified. The civil society and students from all the institutions should protest this move,” renowned teacher and drama writer and Asgher Nadeem Sayed said.
“Legends like Indian film actor Dev Anand and other guests have sat and spent time in the Logia and Punjab government wants to turn it into a train station,” he said, adding “everywhere in the world, historic places are secured when the cities are revamped. We should do this too.”
“An alternative can be found easily,” Inayat Ullah, former federal secretary and NIPA founder and an old Ravian said
“Hundreds and thousands of people have wonderful memory associated with that garden,” Professor Sabir Lodhi, another Ravian said, adding that the move would dishearten Ravians all over the world. He said many events, including an event to honour Faiz Ahmad Faiz was also held in the same place and the government was now planning to convert it into a station.
“It is a shame that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who is a Ravian himself, is planning to destroy the Logia,” a GCU professor said, adding that Noble Laureates had studied at GCU and their memories needed to be preserved.
Logia is situated inside the GCU, towards the Kacheri Road end that leads to the Data Darbar. Historically, this area has never been used as a bus stop.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

54 COMMENTS

  4. So what. GCU has been given a huge piece of land in Kala Shahkaku. The government has the right to convert this garden in to a train station for the welfare of the people.

    • They are demolishing girls' hostel and Centre for Advance Studies in Physics. Are they mad? Girls' hostel in Kala Shah Kaku? This is ridiculous.

    • they are going a destroy a historical garden and for us its simply "SO WHAT…." pathetic. dont you know the historical importance of these places ?

    • Government has no right to demoish and destroy historical educational institutions like GC in the name of welfare of people…..n its not welfare of people at first place…Bus project is welfare of Shahbaz Sharif only….

    • hold on Mr. Javeed… i think you are not a Ravian… so you should not speak about this matter… you don’t know the glory of GCU… and what this government is doing??? it just has the right to demolish such places of historic importance and not to save these things…?? compare Pakistan with other countries… we are at the bottom at every place… because of our government… it should conserve such green spaces rather than destroying it

  5. The garden is no big history, GCU can be provided with some more good gardens in replacement.

    • Every old thing has some secrets and history nad we RAVIANS dnt want an inch of GCU to be destroyed for sOME sTupid bus stations

      • Yes i agree, but i humbly have an opinion that Lovers Garden has no such memories that we must keep. I have been in GCU. Most of guys don't even know its history. Or i must say it doesn't have any significant history. If we have to keep every Old thing, we must not have build this garden too because what was before it , had some memories too. and to more this is not a stupid bus station.

  7. No difference between wt Gallani replied to one of the answer ‘ Why Don’t they left, who want to leave Pakistan’. He was sayin’ bt Shahbaz really did it. How could those pathatic people could ever value the importance of memories .

  8. make a bus track from inside your home… don't touch this historical institution…simply sick…m.r shabaz shariffff

  9. If punjab govt will do this with such a historical place……..the result may b horrible

  13. we will protest…..no waaaaay…….gc ka naam o nishhaaan nahin mitny daain gy……

  16. We dun like the suggestion of converting our historical love garden into bus station.. Plz dun do dis..

  17. Hold your camels!!

    In case the govt is ignorant of the fact that there already isn’t much space to go around in GCU they might wanna come inside and have a look at the congested institute. Moreover, historical significance also adds the weight against such a step.

    Take a suggestion. Use the ‘Nasir bagh’. It’ll save us, Ravians, from the noise pollution that is bound arise incase the proposed train stop is constructed by demolishing the area which not only carries historical significance but is also adjacent to the Main Block.

    • This is a good suggession, Nasir Bagh can used for this purpose and that is not even very far from that place.

  18. All the suggesting people talking about a new welfare plan should keep their mouths shut. Nothing would be benefited except the destruction of the soft and loving hearts specially of those who are in some way attached to this place and My G.CU.. No 1 can do this to Ravians.. And as for as a bus stand is consult.. i think that does not cost more than a Ravian's concerned.. Thanks

  20. Bus Rapid project is one of Shahbaz Sharif's FOOLISH and STUPID work. It seems as if he is getting money out of this project. First Ferozpur road was declared a "Model Road" from Mozang Chowk till Chungi…..CDGL and TEPA spent million rupees on this project….Then Lahore Kasur road was made….and now out of CM's stupidity he has started Bus project which in itself irrational. If he really was interested in providing relief to people, he wud have removed encroachments and made road passage clear……but in that case he might not have got profit which he is getting now from bus project……I am a Ravian…..Every Ravian and GC should be ashamed of having Shehbaz Sharif as Ravian who even thought of destroying our homeland…

  21. Colleges and Universities are sacred places.We Ravians have great memories associated with our ALMA MATER There should not any encroachment and we Ravians should appose it tooth and nail

  22. A buss station where i once copulated secretly not to mention many hours of heavy petting and dry humping 😉 .
    NOT ACCEPTABLE chief saab…………

    • We wnt let it happen….Not even an inch of GCU can be destroyed…no one can do it if Ravians dnt want

  26. It is hard to belive that SHAHBAZ SHARIF wana do this……MR.CM we love our istitute…..we appricite you on ur works but at this time we rejcet this policy…..

  28. According to my small survey i conduct the result the project of SHATAL train is just a whim(a sudden desire) not the planning ,but we are not against it.
    we have to secure our oldest culture , hereditary notorious, ……….. it is a anarchic situation

  30. If THIS is Pujab Government's love for educations and this is their plan to equip the youth with higher education then I HATE PUNJAB GOVERNMENT and its POLICIES. We all stand united and won't let this happen

  35. SO WHAT?? will you accept such a bus transit system in your home??? we the GCU’s Ravian family will never let it happen…

  36. If only logia is using …..not oval than its ok because logia government ko b kuch tou kerna he party ga n if public ko faida ho tou Kia buraiii hai because logia is not soo much use …..

Comments are closed.