‘Lakhpati Residence’: Pre-Partition Inn at Rawalpindi Station

Located behind a Tanwar tree outside the Rawalpindi Railway Station, ‘Lakhpati Residency’ is an inn dating back to before the creation of Pakistan.

This inn provides accommodation for the tired travelers arriving at the railway station.

There used to be many inns at this historic railway station, but with the changing times, Lakhpati Residence is now the only inn that offers decent accommodation to the passengers while the rest of the inns are in plush hotels or other commercial buildings. have changed.

Muhammad Saad, who took over the inn from his father two decades ago, says that his family owned the inn before the creation of Pakistan.

Cots are arranged in a row in the verandah of the inn, while the central part is open-air, with an adjoining shed containing 10 to 15 beds, he said. A pedestal fan serves between four and five beds.

Saad says this is the norm in summer, while in winter they provide blankets and blankets to passengers.

He further said that when he started working at the inn with his father, due to the large number of inns, regular passengers were brought from the train station by bargaining, but now all the inns have been converted into luxury hotels, superstores and markets. In this era of inflation, poor travelers turn to their inns to spend the night, where they form a queue due to the rush and get cots and beds in their turn.

Saad said that 20 years ago the rent for a cot and bed was Rs 60, which is now Rs 150.

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