{
  "id": 19102504,
  "title": "Rawalpindi’s historic buildings crumble amid official apathy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/rawalpindis-historic-buildings-crumble-amid-official-apathy",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T01:36:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2043220/rawalpindis-historic-buildings-crumble-amid-official-apathy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rawalpindi, once a garrison city with a dominant Hindu and Sikh population, now faces the crumbling of its historic buildings due to official neglect. The old buildings, including temples and Gurdwaras, reflect the city's majestic past but are in a state of disrepair. Jamia Masjid requires repairs, and the old bridge over Leh Nullah, which connected the city and cantonment areas during the British era, is slowly losing its wooden structure to theft, with a junkyard established on it. Numerous historical structures, such as havelis, temples, and Gurdwaras, dot the narrow streets, yet none have been declared national heritage sites. The land attached to these religious sites is rapidly disappearing to encroachments. Rawalpindi's downtown area, with its temples and mosques, evokes memories of a time when Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs lived together. The Mandir Kalyan Das, constructed in 1850 by Kalyan Das of the Suri family, is one of the largest temples in the city. However, despite its historical significance, it has received little attention from the government. The old bridge over Leh Nullah, with its wooden structure susceptible to theft, is gradually disappearing. The Punjab government has devised a plan to preserve the historical buildings in Rawalpindi city, but due to limited funds, only efforts to protect the properties from encroachments and maintain their records have been made.",
  "summary": "Old buildings, temples and Gurdwaras in Rawalpindi tell the story of the garrison city’s majestic past, when Hindus and Sikhs made up a dominant share of its population before the partition of the Indian subcontinent. However, these buildings are now in a state of disrepair, as little has been done to preserve them over the past 79 years. Jamia Masjid in Rawalpindi stands tall but is in need of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}