Tag: Lahore

  • Here’s why you were stuck in traffic in Lahore despite South Africa playing Test in Rawalpindi

    Massive jams in major parts of Lahore on Thursday spelt misery for citizens on the second consecutive day with little or no public knowledge regarding the jams except assumptions that the South African cricket team was in town.

    According to the details of the jam, the city’s arteries, including Jail Road, Canal Bank Road and The Mall, remained blocked for traffic as contingents of police and rangers barred motorists from movement on the said roads.

    As a result, all routes leading to the aforementioned major roads also remained choked with traffic jams in Shadman, Shah Jamal, Gulberg, Mozang, Upper & Lower Mall, Lytton Road, Liberty Chowk, Kalma Chowk and Davis Road among other adjoining areas.

    But what could have been the cause, especially when the South African team is currently playing its second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi?

    Well, a separate Proteas T20 squad arrived in Lahore on Wednesday for three-match series against the Green Shirts.

    Security before the movement of the team was beefed up in the Punjab capital and the guests were shifted to the hotel in the fully escorted motorcade.

    Heinrich Klaasen will lead the South Africa squad in the three fixtures which will be played on February 11, 13, and 14. The first practice session is scheduled for Friday.

    The series will start at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on February 11, and so, the current traffic situation is likely to prevail until February 15, after which the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches could add to motorists’ woes.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final Test in Rawalpindi against South Africa on Thursday.

    Pakistan retained the playing XI which won the first Test by seven wickets inside four days at Karachi last week.

  • Two PHA officials suspended for ‘inefficiency and negligence’ over Iqbal sculpture

    Two PHA officials suspended for ‘inefficiency and negligence’ over Iqbal sculpture

    Two officials of the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) have been suspended for “inefficiency and negligence of duty” over the Allama Iqbal sculpture placed in Lahore’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park.

    According to a notification issued by the authority, the two officers have been suspended for “negligence of duty and inefficiency”. 

    The park’s Deputy Director Horticulture Shah Nawaz Wattoo, and Assistant Director Horticulture Ghulam Sibtain have been suspended with “immediate effect”. 

    The sculpture of the Allama Iqbal sparked social media outrage after netizens pointed out that it barely resembled the national poet. Chairman PHA Yasir Gillani later clarified that the sculpture was built by the gardeners of the park in order to pay tribute to the great poet.

    However, following the backlash, CM Punjab Usman Buzdar ordered the sculpture to be removed.

    Nadia Tufail, a spokesperson of the park located in the city’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal area, confirmed to The News that the sculpture had been removed and will be put up again after necessary improvements. 

  • Iqbal’s sculpture in Lahore park built by gardeners as a tribute

    Iqbal’s sculpture in Lahore park built by gardeners as a tribute

    A new sculpture of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, erected at Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, is all social media can talk about ever since pictures of it emerged on Twitter on Monday. While the structure appeared to be an honest attempt to pay a tribute to the country’s national Poet and renowned scholar, netizens are not happy with the way it turned out.

    Several social media users demanded authorities to immediately remove the sculpture as they felt it was a “display of insult” rather than a tribute to the poet.

    https://twitter.com/The_Najeeb/status/1356506382061735938?s=20

    Several journalists, social activists and renowned personalities including Hamid Mir, Jamal Shah, and Jibran Nasir also criticised the government for its incompetence.

    Several users questioned why it was even allowed to be placed at the park.

    However, it later emerged that the statue was built by the gardeners of the park as a tribute to the great leader. Chairman Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Yasir Gillani shared this news on social media, saying that the gardeners prepared it on their own and the “authority did not pay a single penny” for it.

    Later, Focal Person on Digital Media to CM Punjab Azhar Mashwani also clarified that the sculpture was made by the gardeners of the park to express their love for Iqbal.

  • Both Buzdar and Shehbaz agree on Lahore becoming ‘garbage dump’

    Both Buzdar and Shehbaz agree on Lahore becoming ‘garbage dump’

    Amid growing heaps of trash across Punjab, former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government turned the province, especially Lahore, into a garbage dump.

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president made these comments during a hearing of a graft case against him at an accountability court in Lahore.

    Shehbaz remarked that he had saved billions of rupees while signing a contract with the Lahore Waste Management Company. However, the judge stopped Shehbaz from making any further comments, saying it is a “courtroom, not a conference hall”.

    Shehbaz was apparently responding to the allegations made by the Punjab CM’s aide on information, Firdaus Ashiq Awan. In a presser, she had accused Shahbaz Sharif’s government of causing a huge loss to the national exchequer in awarding the contracts to the Turkish companies.

    Meanwhile, Punjab CM Usman Buzdar expressed displeasure with the LWMC officials over the heaps of garbage in the city and asked them to clean it within two days, saying the city is a “garbage dump”.

    “I have received reports that Lahore has been turned into a garbage dump. Every time I have visited the city, I have found bad conditions. Let all the departments work together to make Lahore clean on a priority basis,” he added.

    Pakistan Today reported that the LWMC has been failed to develop garbage from most areas of the city, including Ichra, Shadman, Nishtar Colony, Gulberg, Sanda, Samanabad, Allama Iqbal Town, Harbanspura, Township, for the past 10 days amid delay in the garbage disposal.

    It reported that the LWMC’s waste management contract was with Turkish companies that expired on December 31. The contract, however, couldn’t extend due to a dispute between Turkish companies and LWMC. The government subsequently signed a contract with a new party, but the cleanliness situation in the city failed to improve.

  • Foreign couple ‘mysteriously’ living in a car in Lahore for 6 months

    Foreign couple ‘mysteriously’ living in a car in Lahore for 6 months

    A foreign couple, who is apparently from Australia or Germany, has been residing outside the Customs House in Lahore for the past six months without permission, Daily Pakistan has reported.

    According to locals, they had come to Lahore six months ago and had stayed for a few days at a hotel near Anarkali Bazaar.

    However, the couple started living in a car, parked on a road after they ran out of money. They have set up a tent on the car’s roof.

    They also have a pet puppy and a small cylinder to cook food.

    According to locals, the couple wanted to travel the world on their car and were supposed to cross the Wahga border to reach India, but got stranded in Lahore due to COVID-19.

    Since then, they have been living in a car where they also order food deliveries.

    Locals said they sometimes distribute soup and rice to the workers in the area.

  • Lahore among ‘places to love in 2021’

    Lahore among ‘places to love in 2021’

    Lahore has been listed among the world’s most-loved cities by the New York Times.

    The New York Times recently published a piece in which the publication asked people about the places that delighted or comforted them in 2020. While it received more than 2000 suggestions, only 52 of them got the chance to be featured in the publication’s article. According to the American daily, Lahore is among the most-loved cities for its food, culture, and historical architecture.

    “Especially in winter, this city nourishes you. It opens its arms to you, then feeds you and wraps you in a hug,” wrote the author while expressing the beauty of the city.

    Lahoris are admired for their hospitality and the city is loved for its rich historical architecture.

    Other tourist spots on the list include Andros of Greece, Lebanon’s Beirut, Romania, Siberia, Jordan’s Wadi Rum and Kaliya Dhrow, India.

    It is pertinent to add there that even Turkish actor Engin Altan Düzyatan couldn’t resist saying “Lahore, Lahore hai” during his visit to the city.

  • Man dies after falling from Lahore Fort’s wall

    Man dies after falling from Lahore Fort’s wall

    A 50-year-old man died after falling from a 200 feet high wall of the Lahore Fort.

    The deceased, identified as Munir was seriously injured after falling from the Lahore Fort wall while trying to take a selfie on Saturday. He was taken to a nearby medical facility where he succumbed to his wounds.

    A spokesman for the walled city said that the deceased was from Sheikhupura. He fell from wall while trying to take a picture.

    “The administration of the fort warned him multiple times to refrain from climbing up the wall but he did not listen to their warnings that lead to this incident,” the spokesperson added.

  • Shoaib Malik reportedly involved in car crash after PSL Drafts

    Shoaib Malik reportedly involved in car crash after PSL Drafts

    Shoaib Malik’s car reportedly met with an accident after Pakistan Super League (PSL) Drafts 2021 at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The cricketer, fortunately, escaped unhurt and is safe.

    According to details, Malik left the National High-Performance Centre at high speed and hit a truck, parked on the roadside outside Qaddafi Stadium. Eye witnesses claim that the cricketer was unable to control his car, which ended up skidding on the road and hitting the truck.

    While Malik is safe and unhurt, his car has been badly damaged due to the high speed. He was returning to his hotel after attending the PSL 2021 drafts in Lahore.

    He was later taken to the hotel where he staying by fielding coach Abdul Majeed.

    Later, in a tweet, the all-rounder said that he is perfectly fine.

    “It was just a happenstance accident and Almighty has been extremely Benevolent. Thank you to each one of you who’ve reached out. I am deeply grateful for all the love and care,” wrote Malik.

    Read more – Shoaib Malik reveals his two favourite things

    Meanwhile, some reports have also claimed that Malik was racing with Wahab Riaz, which caused him to lose control of the car and crash.

  • Don’t have electricity? Don’t worry, it’s the entire country

    Don’t have electricity? Don’t worry, it’s the entire country

    Power outages have been reported in all major cities of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Karachi.

    While no confirmed reports have yet poured in on the situation in other cities, the blackout is being deemed a national one with a fault allegedly occuring in the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) transmission lines.

    The cause of the fault has not yet been ascertained, however, sources say it could be due to the foggy weather conditions prevailing in the country.

    Earlier, the outage began with voltage fluctuations. The same being a countrywide problem emerged as soon as people took to social media.

    Here’s what’s going on on Twitter:

    Meanwhile, here’s an official update:

    Since the restoration could take a while, how about you tell us your plans for this Saturday night?

    Let The Current know in the comments…

  • Lahore restaurant sealed after dead rat found in shawarma

    Lahore restaurant sealed after dead rat found in shawarma

    The Dolphin Squad in Lahore has sealed a local eatery in Bahria Town Lahore, near the ‘Eiffel Tower parking’ when a family eating there found a dead rat inside a shawarma sandwich.

    Saleh Saleem posted about the horrific incident on Facebook, stating that his 10-year-old niece was about to eat the Middle Eastern dish but before taking a bite, found the rat in her meal. “These people are playing with the lives of people and also have the audacity to argue about it,” Saleh said in his post.

    Saleh also stated that the dolphin squad sealed the restaurant and a ‘key witness’ helped to get the restaurant sealed.

    Watch what Saleh’s mother had to say to the chef after they told him about the rat.