City wakes up from Eid holiday lull

LAHORE: After four days of Eid holidays, the city has come back to life, starting to resume its normal day-to-day functioning.

The thousands of people who had taken off for Eid holidays are now streaming back.  Inter-city bus terminals including the General Bus Stand, Badami Bagh, and the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) bus stand, Sikandriya Colony, were brimming with passengers who were rushing back to work.  Similar scenes were witnessed at the City Railway Station.

This mass influx overburdened the city’s entry points causing gridlocks. City roads that during Eid had seen a minimum of traffic now sprang back into action with a massive flow of vehicles.

Regional Transport Authority (RTA) secretary Malik Muhammad Muneer Joiya said that on complaints of the public, challans had been issued for more than 12 transporters for overcharging passengers returning to the city.  To this end, the RTA set up two squads to monitor the situation.  The first squad was set up at the General Bus Stand, Badami Bagh, and monitored Ahmed Travels at Bhati, the Bund Road terminals, Mian Travels at Shahdra Chowk and adjoining areas.  This squad comprised Motor Vehicle Examiners Muhammad Iqbal Akram and Muhammad Azam.

The second squad was assigned the CDGL bus terminal.  The squad included Muhammad Iqbal and his subordinates.  Both squads, also, had two officials each of the District Office (Passenger & Freight Transit Terminals) and both worked throughout the day.

Markets and shopping plazas that were deserted during the Eid holidays came back to life. However, some government departments and educational institutions reported thin attendance.

A CDGL official told The Express Tribune that it was standard practice for many people to leave one day before Eid and come back one or two days after the official Eid holidays were over. Though strict directions were issued against the practice, most employees paid no heed to them, he added.

Amjal Wana, owner of a private school in Faisal Town, said that teachers warned students of stringent action in order to ensure close to full attendance but the low turnout had marred educational activity.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2010.