Ghanta Ghar (Multan)
Clock Tower Multan or Ghanta Ghar Multan (Urdu: گھنٹہ گھر) is city government headquarters of Multan in the Punjab province of Pakistan.[1]
History
Ghanta Ghar or Clock Tower of Multan was built in 1884 A.D. during British Raj in South Asia. After passing municipal act 1883 British needed offices to run the city. They started constructing Ghanta Ghar in Multan on 12 February 1884 and it took 4 years to completely build this building. It was constructed over the ruins of Haveli of Ahmad Khan Sadozai which was completely destroyed during Siege of Multan. The hall and building was named 'Ripon Hall and Ripon Building' after the name of Ripon, viceroy of India at that time. And clock tower was named Northbrook Tower after the name of Northbrook, a former viceroy of India (1872-1876).
This building was completed, opened and offices shifted in 1888.
Hall was named 'Jinnah Hall' after the independence of Pakistan in 1947 and it used for office meetings, cultural programs and public was also allowed to enter here. With passage of time this building became insufficient for offices and small hall was also insufficient for meetings, so offices were shifted from here. Now idea is to change this historic building into a museum.
Clock of Clock Tower
On 27 October 2011 three clocks of Ghanta Ghar were repaired and started again showing time of PST which is +5GMT. This effort was done by a watch company Rado. The machinery and needles of the clocks were changed while the clock's main dial was unchanged. It runs by solar energy. The clock had stopped working in 1985.
Multan museum
Ghanta Ghar Multan is made a museum by city government called Multan Museum. Funds have been allocated and work has been started. Multan based company Ideafist is designing the 3D Model for the Museum and they are planning to develop the actual 3D image for the museum in future. 3D model is under construction.
See also
- Ghantaghar, Chandni Chowk, Delhi
References
Coordinates: 30°11′55″N 71°28′04″E / 30.19861°N 71.46778°E