Karachi Edward House, a heritage building situated on Abdullah Haroon Road, opposite the former Hotel Metropole, is under threat because the exercise being conducted to conserve it is faulty, a reliable source told The News. “In its facade cleaning the original stone is being chiseled which is technically wrong,” a senior architect requesting anonymity said. “It’s something that should not have been done,” the source said. “The patina of the historic building has also been erased,” the source said. “Instead of taking out the outer layer of the building, chemical cleansing should have been done.” The source said the stone of the building previously had a homogenous colour but it has been changed that is contrary to conservation methodology. Built in 1910, Edward House is also significant because of the famous Cafe Grand that was once the hideout of artists, writers, and poets, trade union and student activists and love birds. The historic significance of CafÈ Grand could be gauged from the fact that Founder of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and his sister Mohtarama Fatima Jinnah use to frequent CafÈ Grand, according to the source. “Its Sunday tea was very popular,” the source said. People still cherish the memories of a Mr. Herbert Cumper for the special tea and confectionary. Why heritage buildings in the megalopolis Karachi are being disfigured and even demolished one by one remains a mystery. Experts believe this is being done by the land mafia in connivance with Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA). Others argue that since the relevant authorities are unable to compensate the owners of many heritage buildings due to paucity of funds and general apathy towards heritage, it is the right of owners of these buildings to sell them since they happen to be on prime land and fetch good money. Over 600 buildings that were listed in 1995-96 by the Heritage Foundation and given protection under the Sindh Cultural Preservation Act, 1994, but the Technical Committee for Heritage Buildings is under constant pressure from the authorities to de-list these buildings.
