Tourists flock Quetta’s Hanna lake
Locals, young and old, move in a large circle around two musicians who are playing their drums in the typical loud Pashtun style. They also sing a song — a love story called Kakari Ghara — unique to the Balochistan’s Pashto-speaking belt.
This is a party of picnic makers from the provincial capital of Quetta engaged in the frenzy of ancient Attan dance considered an integral part of the local culture.
They dance in slow and sluggish manner but increase its pace as the time passes on the bank of Hanna Lake.
As the recent snow and downpour turned Quetta’s Hanna Lake into a wintery paradise, hundreds of people flock to the picnic spot despite the sub-zero temperatures.
The famous British-era man-made lake had been without a drop of water in the decade-long drought which left most parts of Balochistan without even potable water.
The downpour and flash floods in August last year, however, filled the parched water reservoir for the first time in more than ten years.
Quetta and most parts of northern Balochistan have been in the grip of a snow and rain causing weather system for the past several days as heavy snowfall has covered the entire landscape of Northern Balochistan.
Some people prefer to stay indoors in the freezing cold as there is no gas or power in the area but others, especially youngsters, like to enjoy the snowfall and many are heading for Ziarat and other picnic spots with friends and families.
“We are here to enjoy the cold and pleasant weather on the bank of this beautiful lake,” Muhammad Ajmal Kakar, a tourist from the Muslim Bagh area of the Killa Saifullah district told The Express Tribune.
Like Kakar, scores of tourists are partying on the bank of the lake amid the white flakes of snowfall. They have made large bonfires and stocked edibles, accompanied by musicians or large music players.
“I came from Karachi to enjoy snow and cold weather. This is almost a yearly ritual for the past five years,” Arsalan, a young man, said. He and his four friends intend to visit Ziarat too but had stopped at the lake.
Mountains around the lake are covered in a snow carpet making them surreal along with the clean blue water of the reservoir.
However, tourists complained about the lack of basic facilities at the spot.
The British administration constructed the Hanna Lake in 1894 to ensure a stable water table in Quetta, promote tourism, recharge ancient springs in the nearby mountains, and promote agriculture in the region.
It used to attract thousands of migratory Siberian birds too in the past which is no more the case.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2023.