Kapoor Haveli owner asks for government help

The owner of the Kapoor Haveli in Pakistan which was nearly demolished on Sunday but saved at the last minute by heritage enthusiasts and the Directorate of Archeology and Museums, has asked for government help to maintain it, reports the Hindustan Times.

The Kapoor Haveli, built in the pre-Partition era by Prithviraj Kapoor and ancestral home of Bollywood's first family including Raj Kapoor, was about to be knocked down and converted into a hotel. Its owner, Haji Israr Khan, a local businessman, said he is willing to save it "if the government meets me halfway".

Khan had told a local newspaper, "We know the building is a national asset but I cannot preserve it alone." He said that no one from the heritage authorities, including the Directorate of Archeology and Museums, had ever contacted him about the haveli.

The building is in a dangerous state and threatens those who live in its vicinity, said Khan. He had removed the 100-year-old wooden roof after cracks appeared in the walls of the haveli after an earthquake last year, and demolished two floors.

"We know there is history behind the building, but no one cares about it," said Nisar Khan, an 80-year-old in the neighbourhood. Nisar Khan remembers the visit of actor Shashi Kapoor 20 years ago, when he picked up some soil from the haveli grounds for remembrance.