New Delhi: Raj Kapoor’s ancestral haveli in Pakistan’s Peshawar suffered serious damage following heavy rains and a strong earthquake on Friday night.
PTI quoted officials and local residents as saying that a portion of the iconic haveli collapsed overnight.
Continuous rain caused structural damage and weakened the century-old building. The tremors further destabilised the already dilapidated structure, the report added.
Shakeel Waheedullah, secretary of the Heritage Council in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, said a section of the building’s wall collapsed after the earthquake.
No casualty was reported.
The Kapoor Haveli, located in the heart of the famous Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar, was declared a national heritage site by the Pakistan government in 2016.
Waheedullah urged the country’s Archaeology department and the KPK provincial government to take immediate steps to restore and preserve the historic building.
According to local officials, any further neglect could result in irreparable loss to the structure.
The Kapoor Haveli, one of the finest architectures of its time, has 40 rooms. The facade is adorned with intricate floral motifs and jharokhas.
