A day spent well

Residents of Hyderabad throng to alManzar as the heavens open

HYDERABAD: AlManzar, a tourist spot on Kotri barrage in Jamshoro district, has lately been witnessing a large number of visitors as the weather has turned pleasant.

Although River Indus flows alongside Hyderabad's huge stretch, alManzar provides the only riverside setting for the people. With the onset of monsoon a few days ago, the place began to receive tens of thousands of visitors, choking the bridge over the barrage and the two hotels by the riverside, every day.

"It took us 45 to 50 minutes to cross the bridge in our car," said Bahzad Ali, a resident of Hyder Chowk area in Hyderabad who visited the place on Saturday. "If I hadn't been with my family, I would have preferred to take a walk and park my car on Hyderabad-Jamshoro Road."

Pleasant weather: A large number of people visit alManzar, a tourist spot on Kotri barrage in Jamshoro district. With the onset of monsoon a few days ago, the place began to receive tens of thousands of visitors. PHOTO: EXPRESS



Other people who visited the spot also complained of the traffic jam. "The Jamshoro police and district administration should manage the traffic by allowing entry to the vehicles coming from Hyderabad's direction and re-routing others moving from Jamshoro to Hyderabad towards the Hyderabad Bypass," suggested a visitor, Ali Nawaz.

Hafeez Mallah, who works at alManzar hotel, said that even though they have been making a sale bonanza thanks to an unusually high number of the visitors, their staff and capacity is far shorter than the services required by the people.

The district administration of Jamshoro has imposed section 144 against swimming in the river but neither the government has taken measures to enforce the ban nor the people seem to be complying.