The citizens of the provincial metropolitan were all ecstatic at the coming of a rare long weekend after such a long time, leaving the citizens with three consecutive holidays for recreation and enjoyment, Pakistan Today observed.
The weekend started with good news for the entire country as Pakistan won the Asia Cup final cricket match. Citizens in Lahore, roamed around on the roads on motorcycles and cars to celebrate the victory. This was followed by the national holiday for Pakistan Day on March 23 , while the city district government of Lahore had announced a local holiday on Saturday for Mela Charagan and Sunday, already being a holiday was an added bonus.
The citizens, usually enraged by the power outages have taken it as a golden opportunity to relax and go out for recreational purposes. The parks, on Friday, were packed with families who turned up in large numbers. The parks including Lawrence Garden, Race Course Park, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park were among the major attractions. The other major attraction remained the Lahore zoo which attracted a large number of families especially one with little children.
Ahsan manzoor, a banker said, “This is a rare opportunity for the citizens who have so many tensions otherwise and a busy, daily work schedule. We have come with our kids to the zoo and will later go to play places as they (children) keep insisting. I would love to take my kids to these places but I don’t usually have the time. Thanks to a long weekend the whole family can spend time together.
People from different parts of the city also started visiting the shrine of Madho Lal Hussain for which a local holiday had also been announced. All these events accumulatively have created a very jubilant and relaxed environment in the entire city as most of the markets are closed and all people are relaxing with their families at home or at some recreational places.
“For traders, this is a very rare opportunity because on no other day do we get a chance to get off from work. I will finally be able to spend quality time with my wife and kids and be able to visit realtives,” said Amir Butt, a trader at Brandeth Road.