Imambara's in bara trouble: Shopkeepers

Lucknow: Barely fifteen days after the district administration issued an order asking shopkeepers at the Bara Imambara to shift their shops inside the monument, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) on Monday called it a 'terrible step' that may lead to the defacement of the property.
Over 13 shopkeepers have been shifted from the area next to the ticket counter and have been given a spot inside the corridors on either side of the first entrance.
Husainabad & Allied Trust (HAT), the body responsible for preservation of monuments in the Husainabad area, plans to get canopies put up over the arches for them. "The plan includes putting up of canopies for the shopkeepers to protect against the sun and rain," said ADM-west Jaishanker Dubey, who is also the custodian of HAT.
"This is a terrible step for a monument that is almost 200 years old. It will spoil the panoramic view of the first gate from inside, with the shabby canopies protruding from the Nawabi building," said INTACH's Lucknow convenor and conservation architect Vipul Varshney. She also said that anything done around a protected and heritage monument should be in tandem with an expert's opinion.
The authorities claim the move is directed to discourage haphazard cropping up of shops around the Imambara.
The shopkeepers have, on the other hand, refused to settle in under the canopies and have demanded shutters, channels, gates and a pathway for leading tourists up to their shops. "Each of us has been losing Rs 8,000-10,000 each day for the past 13 days. We were promised that our demands would be met but the administration is ready to put up the canopies only," said shopkeeper Shahid Husain.
Meanwhile, authorities have questioned the existence of the shops, with the administration terming them illegal. "They are not legal shopkeepers. If need be, we will throw them out," said Dubey.
The shopkeepers, on the other hand claimed they have been paying rent to HAT since 1953. "We have all the receipts till 2011. The rent was 12 annas in 1953, increases to Rs 11, then to Rs 50 over the years. After 2011, HAT has not been taking any rent," said Husain.