MULTAN – A Heritage Cafe is going to be functional at the historical Haram Gate next month to showcase traditional Multani foods with cultured hospitality the City of Saints and mangoes is known for. The novel initiative is the brainchild of Walled City Multan Authority (WCMA), to be operated under public private partnership. It will hopefully be inaugurated on Aug 1, however, if that does not happen due to unavoidable circumstances, then Aug 14, Independence Day, would be the most appropriate day for its opening, says Umair Ghazanfar, a spokesman for WCMA in Multan. Commissioner Multan Amir Kareem Khan is expected to inaugurate the facility at the monument. The initiative would help WCMA resolve the issue of encroachments blocking the view of the 19th century monument, one of the six historical gates to the ancient walled city of Multan. It stands as a proud sentinel of centuries-old Islamic urbanization and Mughal architecture. After the British annexation of Multan in the mid-19th century, the original gate was damaged but was later rebuilt in the latter half of the 1800s with pointed arches and double-storey castigated towers. In 2018, the monument was restored to its historical form with the help from Italian funding and expertise as part of the Multan Walled City Project that was aimed at preserving Multan’s heritage and promote cultural tourism. Four traditional wooden carts have been developed by the authority to showcase traditional foods like Multani ‘Doli Roti, ‘Dal Moong’, famous Rabri ‘Kheer’ of Haram Gate as a traditional dessert, besides tea, coffee, cold drinks and Paan shop, Umair said. While people would be allowed to enjoy traditional food at seating arrangements near the historical gate, tourists from foreign countries and those who would avail WCMA’s ‘Cycle Rani’ ride facility for a tour to the Walled City would be allowed to enjoy breakfast with tea at the top of any of the two Harram Gate towers.
