Dilip Kumar's Ancestral Home In Pakistan's Peshawar Nearing Collapse, Heritage At Risk

Legendary late actor Dilip Kumar's ancestral home in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a national heritage, is reported to be almost on the verge of collapse after being severely damaged in the recent rains, according to an official statement.

The torrential rains have fully exposed tall claims about the rehabilitation and renovation of the house made by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Archive Department.

Dilip Kumar's Ancestral Home In Pakistan's Peshawar Nearing Collapse - Here's Why

Kumar, who was born in 1922 in a house located in Mohallah Khudadad at the backside of the historic Qissa Khwani Bazar in Peshawar city, spent his initial 12 years here before leaving for India in 1932. The house was declared Pakistan's national heritage monument on July 13, 2014, by then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Kumar had visited his house once and sentimentally kissed the soil. Shakeel Waheedullah Khan, Secretary of Heritage Council KPK province, has stated that the recent rains in Peshawar have badly damaged the house of Kumar. Despite many grants being pledged by the previous KPK government, not a single penny has been spent on this national heritage to protect and preserve it, he said on the property that was built in 1880, as reported by PTI.

Considering the property's age, its reservation is the responsibility of the government, he added. Local socio-political circles have expressed grave concern over the attitude of the archive department in preventing the national asset from collapsing. The claims of the Department of Archive remained limited to press statements, as on the ground, no steps were taken to prevent the national heritage from natural calamity, they say.

Tourists visiting the house from across the world became disappointed after seeing the dilapidated condition of the historic asset. Muhammad Ali Mir, who was looking after the house before it was taken over by the Archive Department, said he was properly looking after it with great care, as per PTI reports.

The condition of the house started deteriorating after it was taken over by the Archive Department, and its rehab and renovation process remained restricted to news statements. Today, the property has turned into a ghost house. "Kumar had great love and respect for the people of Peshawar, and unfortunately, our department could do nothing to protect his house from being collapsed," he said. The actor, who died on July 7, 2021, in Mumbai at the age of 98, was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian honour, in 1997.