LAHORE: Like in other parts of the country, the faithful in the provincial capital observed all three days of Eidul Azha with religious zeal and fervor and around 3 million animals including goats, oxen and camels were sacrificed to observe in accordance with the religious ordainment.
The first day of Eid began with Eid prayers, for which special security arrangements were made at all mosques and Eidgah’s. The Eid prayers were offered at over 1,000 Eidgah’s, mosques, Imambargahs, open grounds and parks where hundreds of thousands of people came to fulfill this religious obligation.
Congregation: The biggest congregation was held at the Badshahi Mosque, where Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary offered his Eid prayers besides certain provincial ministers, while the Punjab chief minister observed Eid with the flood victims of the province. The second biggest congregation in the city was held at the Data Darbar.
Although the sale of animals remained subdued due to the exorbitant prices, people were still witnessed buying the creatures until the third day of Eid.
On the other hand, the availability of professional butchers remained a serious issue, as the lack of trained butchers provided an opportunity to the number of seasonal (non-professional) ones to make money. Most of these part-timers had traveled to Lahore from other areas of the province to mint money on this occasion.
Butchering: An average butcher was found charging Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 for sacrificing a single goat, and around Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 was the rate for an ox or a buffalo. The charges for sacrificing a camel and other big animals were Rs 10,000 to 15,000.
Since the sacrifice is the main activity of note on Eidul Azha, the city’s streets remained filled with hordes of children gathered anywhere an animal was being sacrificed.
Besides this, hide-collection camps were set-up all across the city and various religious groups were witnessed competing against each other for collecting the greatest number of animal hide. For those who preferred to entertain themselves at home this Eid, the plethora of television channels running in the country provided more-than-enough entertainment through their special Eid transmission.
The Pakistan Television (PTV) and other private channels broadcasted quality programmes throughout the three Eid days that kept many glued to their TV screens.
The citizens with a love for the outdoors flogged to Lahore’s recreational spots and parks, especially the Joy Land, Lahore Zoo, Lawrence Gardens and others of the like.
Families were witnessed picnicking under the open sky, basking in the warm sunlight of early winter. Former Punjab CM Chaudhary Pervez Elahi celebrated Eid at his native town, Gujarat, and only the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central leadership remained present in the provincial capital on the occasion.
The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) made comprehensive arrangements to ensure that the city remained clean on Eidul Azha and in this regard, special Solid Waste Management (SWM) squads were formed that continued patrolling across the city to lift the waste of sacrificed animals. Since the government had already announced three public holidays for Eid – Wednesday to Friday – and the two weekly holidays, Saturday and Sunday, ensured five-day long weekend for the people to enjoy Eid festivities. Law enforcement agencies also made special security arrangements to avoid any unrest or untoward incident.
