Kapoor Haveli in Pakistan's Peshawar faces demolition threat due to battered condition?

Late Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor’s ancestral home in Pakistan’s Peshawar city is facing demolition threat as the current owner of the house is adamant on building a commercial complex at the site. According to news agency PTI, the ancestral home of the Kapoor family located in Qissa Khwani Bazar in Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is considered to a historic monument in the city. Pakistan government in 2018 had decided to convert the 'Kapoor Haveli' into a museum, after listening to a request by Rishi Kapoor, who passed recently.

Kapoor family's ancestral home to be demolished?

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Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had assured Rishi Kapoor that the Pakistan government will convert the actor’s house into a museum. However, according to the residents of the area, the house has turned into a 'ghost building'. They also stated that they fear that the building will collapse anytime, due to its dilapidated condition. The state of the building is deteriorating with each passing day due to ecological impacts, torrential rains, earthquakes and wind storms.

The Kapoor family ancestral home is currently owned by Haji Muhammad Israr, a wealthy jeweller in the city. The provincial government wanted to buy the Kapoor Haveli keeping in view its historic importance and conserve it in its original shape for the tourists. However, the owner wants to demolish the building and construct a new commercial building at this prime location. He made three to four attempts in the past to demolish the building but could not do it as FIRs were registered against him by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa heritage department.

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There were reports that the provincial government has failed to convert Kapoor family ancestral home into a museum due to differences with its owner over its price. The owner of the 'Kapoor Haveli' has denied that he had any issue with the government over the price of the property, which is estimated to be over Rs 5 crore. He said he simply wanted to demolish the Kapoor family ancestral home and construct a huge commercial market at the site.

Haji Muhammad Israr said, “I have sufficient money to cater to my needs. I supply around 3 to 4 maund (120kg-160kg) gold a week to the Peshawar biggest jewellery market.” Local residents fear that the building may automatically collapse unless the government takes timely action to conserve it. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, a resident of Dhaki Nalbandi said, “It is a matter of concern that the ''Kapoor Haveli'' which we consider as the pride of our city is in dilapidated condition and is fast heading to the disappearance because of being ignored.”

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Mujeeb said that he was a teenager when late Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor had visited their ancestral home in the early 90s. In 1990, Rishi Kapoor along with brother Randhir Kapoor visited their ancestral home where his grandfather, Prithviraj, and his father Raj Kapoor, were born. Shakeel Waheedullah, Secretary Cultural Heritage Council Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, expressed regret over the dilapidated condition of the house. The 'Kapoor Haveli’ was built by Basheswarnath Kapoor, the father of Bollywood pioneer Prithviraj Kapoor. The Kapoor family, originally from Peshawar in Pakistan, migrated to India after the partition in 1947.

(With PTI Inputs)

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