Lahore: The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has accorded its approval for the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project near the Shalimar Gardens, a new source reported.
Previously, several stakeholders had voiced concerns that the construction work on the proposed railway lines might lead to the damage of the world heritage site. Recently, the UNESCO committee accepted the government’s suggestion to employ an international consultant with an aim to devise traffic flow strategies around the site.
In July, a delegation comprising several Pakistani officials held a meeting with officials of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, to discuss a draft for the project. The committee had previously asked the Pakistani officials to include 31 precautionary assessments (including conversion of one road adjacent to the site into a footpath and another for vehicular movement) in its feasibility report for the project.
The delegation told the committee members that they had conducted research with regard to the alternate traffic route arrangements and assured them that the executive planned to conduct more studies in its bid to accommodate the traffic without causing damages to the Shalimar Gardens.
