The provincial government has finally made the decision to purchase the two houses belonging to renowned Indian actors, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provincial government has finally taken the decision to purchase the houses of former Bollywood stars, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar in Peshawar. This was decided alongside the provincial archaeology department and the Peshawar district administration.
Raj Kapoor’s house is located in Dhak-i-Dalgaran. Dilip Kumar nee Yousaf Pathan’s house is located a few blocks over in Khudadad Mohallah of Qissa Khwani – both of which are located in the older, ‘walled’ area of the inner-city areas of Peshawar.
Raj Kapoor’s house is a mansion spanning six Marlas and three Sarsai (local measuring unit for land and properties) covering an area estimated to be 5,184 square feet. Meanwhile, Dilip Kumar’s is spread over four marlas, with an estimated 1,077.83 square feet of covered area.
The government has estimated the costs of both houses and the market value of the two houses is at around Rs15 million and Rs8.05 million respectively.
The district government made the decision to purchase the two houses after the former actors started demolishing the two buildings, which were declared as heritage sites in 2016, this caused uproar across the subcontinent and therefore prompted the provincial archaeology department to step in. Therein, the government is now purchasing the two buildings to preserve them and to also reach a permanent solution.
K-P Archeology and Museums Department Director Dr Abdul Samad added that once Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar’s houses are acquired, the department plans to restore them to their original state, with ideas on renovating the houses and turning them into museums.
“The greatest artists of the Indian film industry can trace their roots to Peshawar and to explore that connection, we have decided to preserve it for future generations,” the archaeology director said.