The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) on Wednesday removed its marketing, tourism and culture director from the job for failing to monitor a function that allegedly was a wedding ceremony not permissible at the Unesco protested heritage site under the rules and regulations. The authority also surrendered services of Mr Asif Zaheer, (an officer on deputation) to the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) for his repatriation to his actual department “In the light of a preliminary inquiry into an alleged wedding function (Mehndi) reportedly organised by a private party at the Royal Kitchen Courtyard (Lahore Fort), we have removed our senior official Asif Zaheer from the job of director (marketing, tourism an culture) and surrendered his services to the S&GAD department. The department will further repatriate his services to the PHA,” WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari told Dawn. “We think that it was negligence on the part of the aforementioned official, as he didn’t monitor the event, which was actually allowed for [holding] a private corporate dinner, converted into a reported wedding (Mehndi) ceremony.”
Do you think wedding ceremonies should be allowed to take place at heritage places in the first place?
Heritage places are mostly used as tourists spots. However, holding weddings there is more like a cooperate business, which honestly does violates the integrity of the place itself. And even if wedding’s are permitted, which they are, holding meagre events like dinners and parties at such places degrades the value of the place.