Hazratganj, the heart of Lucknow, has been ailing. But that is about to change.
In the days when there was only Doordarshan, that too in black & white, in the evening and malls were an alien concept, the favourite pastime of the people of Lucknow was a leisurely stroll at Hazratganj. People would spend hours at Hazratganj. The indulgence even had a name: Ganjing. Nobody is clear how the street got its name; Hazratganj probably means the master of all localities.
The one-kilometre stretch had it all: Mayfair, the tony theatre with its 35-mm screen hemmed in by wooden arches, which showed the latest Hollywood flicks; the bookstore of Ram Advani, a walking Encyclopaedia on the city; inexpensive cold drinks; Chinese-owned restaurants; a Hanuman temple; sweetmeat shops; the majestic house of the former king of Mahmudabad which had been converted into a hotel; provision stores; innumerable chikan work shops; and a hangout zone for young boys and girls aptly called Love Lane.
Then satellite television struck. Cars and two-wheelers choked the street. Air and noise pollution made the stroll a nightmare. Malls came subsequently. The buildings began to crumble. Government apathy didn’t help — Chief Minister Mayawati did launch a beautification drive but it was far away from here. Hazratganj was on oxygen.
Then succor came from an unexpected quarter. Connect Lucknow, an organisation of the citizens of the city, has launched a project with a corpus of Rs 100 crore (unofficial sources put it at Rs 200 crore) to restore Hazratganj to its pristine glory. Though the restoration is far from complete, Mayawati dedicated the ‘refurbished’ Hazratganj to the people of Lucknow on her 55th birthday on January 15, 2011.
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Hazratganj started life as residential enclave for the nobility of Lucknow during the times of the Nawabs. This explains the Awadhi architecture — a blend of British and Persian. These noblemen, known more for their wealth, debauchery and love of the arts than for their administration, statecraft or military skills, fell from grace after 1857. They were driven out of Hazratganj after the mutiny, and the British redeveloped it as a shopping arcade on the lines of Queen’s Street in London. They added elements of shopping and recreation, including a dance floor and post office. The street, of course, was out of bounds for the natives.
Over the years, Hazratganj got defaced by hoardings, traffic chaos, poor drainage, broken pathways, encroachment by pavement vendors, overhead cables, haphazard parking and cacophony of building signage and colour schemes. Mayfair closed down. Hazratganj, it seemed, had stopped mattering to the people of Lucknow. For example, Hazratganj, though it was the central business district of Lucknow, didn’t have a centralised drainage system which made it prone to floods during the rains. The water pipes that were laid in 1857 were in use till recently.
While voices for the restoration of Hazratganj had been vocal in the past, nothing concrete was ever done. This common cause brought together Hazratganj traders, city intelligentsia, historians and even journalists to form Connect Lucknow to help Hazratganj regain its lost glory jointly with the state government.
Connect Lucknow proposed to the government an action plan for ‘reinventing’ Hazratganj and ‘rejuvenating’ its pathway. The plan sprang into quick action after Mayawati showed keen interest in the project. The work on restoring Hazratganj started in August 2010 and was originally scheduled to be completed by December to coincide with the bicentenary of Hazratganj, when a mega carnival of sorts was planned to commemorate the occasion.
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The plan included restoring Hazratganj’s colonial facade with the uniform colour scheme of cream and pink, signage to enhance the beauty of arches and columns, refurbished pavements, tasteful streetlights, landscaping, wrought-iron benches and central vehicle parking space. The master plan included the nearby area of Lalbagh which houses the largest IT peripheral and automobile hub in this part of India. Mayawati personally monitored and reviewed the task and even made on-the-spot inspection of the work in Hazratganj. Her trusted lieutenant and Uttar Pradesh State Advisory Council chairperson, Satish Chandra Mishra, was personally involved.
Various government agencies like the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, Lucknow Development Authority, UP Power Corporation, Jal Sansthan and Bharat Sanchar Nigam worked in coordination for the required civil and electrical works. Under this comprehensive project, new sewer lines, underground drains and water pipes have been laid, water fountains constructed, encroachments removed, roads widened and footpaths tastefully tiled. Electricity cables have been put underground so that the skyline is reminiscent of the bygone era.
All the parking lots have been cancelled in Hazratganj and shifted to an under-construction multi-level parking lot. Urban street furniture, including Victorian lamp posts, wrought iron benches and classic dustbins, have been set up all over the street to bring back the charm of Ganjing.
All the buildings have been reworked to the original design. The signage of shops and commercial establishments has been hued in black and white. The traders have borne the expenditure of colouring and repair of buildings and the signage. “Considering the size of the project, the budget of Rs 100 crore is most economical and modest,” architect Asheesh Srivastava, who prepared the blueprint of the Hazratganj project, says.
However, the work got delayed from its original timeline. It is now close to completion and is likely to be over by mid-May. The multilevel parking was a separate project and conceived a couple of years back, but now it has been integrated in the master plan of Hazratganj, says Srivastava.
“The concept of Connect Lucknow, where the government, intelligentsia and traders came together for common cause, can be replicated in other parts of the country as well for restoring the glory of historical towns or specific areas lying in neglect,” Connect Lucknow president Chander Prakash says. Although the celebrations for Hazratganj have been put on hold for the time being, he says these will surely be organised once the project is complete. These will include a series of cultural programmes showcasing Hazratganj through photo exhibitions, concerts and seminars.
“Hazratganj has been equipped with civil infrastructure, including water, sewage and firefighting systems, which will be good enough for at least the next 50 years. This project can be termed as infrastructure improvement of our heritage,” Srivastava says. Lucknow Municipal Council Additional Commissioner PS Bhadauria says the work on drainage and the repair of the street is over, though some small work remains to be completed in Lalbagh.
Ganjing could make a comeback soon.
