LAHORE: A border between the two classes — Haves and Have-Nots — the city canal is a center of attraction for the lower-middle-class families to beat the heat of the scorching sun in the month of Ramadan as hundreds throng here to cool their fast.
Lahore’s canal, virtually in the center of the city, serves as a demarcation line between affluent areas and the rest. Upmarket areas have farmhouses, swimming pools, centrally air-conditioned halls. There are meeting points where the upper middle and elite classes meet while away their time waiting for breaking the fast moment.
But the lower middle classes have only one source to fetch the body mercury to lower side — the canal.
Several hundreds of people visit the canal to beat the heat where the trees are a natural substitute for beach umbrellas and sun awnings, shielding bodies from the fierce heat of the sun.
These families count themselves lucky to have the canal so close to their homes and are drawn to its cooler banks and hang out there during their fasting hours.
“I am lucky I live nearby, only half a kilometer from this point. I cannot afford air conditioning. We are fasting in the holy month of Ramadan and count the canal water as a blessing for us. My family spends the hottest hours of the day on the canal bank,” said mother of three Inayat Begum, interviewed standing in the water of the canal.
This canal also attracts hundreds of young people every day who use it as a swimming and jumping pool.
“It is really a good place to enjoy if you are fasting. Dip in the water, cool your body and also have fun,” Ali Noor, a boy in his teens told the Arab News.
Those who use the canal as a swimming pool do so against medical advice, however, as the waters can cause disease.
“The water of the canal is not clean as many people throw their waste in it and it contaminates the water. Taking a bath here can cause skin allergies and people should avoid it. Many families dip their young babies in the water and that is very harmful,” said Dr. Arif Mehmud of Mayo Hospital.
But while the District Administration has banned bathing in the canal, law enforcing agencies take a lenient view due to Ramadan.
“It is very hot and poor people spend their noon here. They beat the heat by swimming in canal water. They are fasting and we do not take action against them except issuing them with warnings,” a member of the Dolphins, the newly formed police squad to fight street crime in Punjab province, said while patrolling the canal side.
Lahorites beat the heat on ‘canal beach’
Lahorites beat the heat on ‘canal beach’
- Lahore canal is a border between the two classes — Haves and Have-Nots
- Doctor warns against dipping young babies in the harmful canal water
At ECO meeting, Pakistan proposes ‘Regional Innovation Hub’ to curb natural disasters
- Pakistan hosts high-level 10th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in Islamabad
- Innovation hub to focus on early warning technologies, risk informed infrastructure planning
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has proposed to set up a “Regional Innovation Hub on Disaster Risk Reduction” that focuses on early warning technologies and risk informed infrastructure planning, the Press Information Department (PID) said on Wednesday, as Islamabad hosts a high-level meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
The ECO’s 10th Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is being held from Jan. 21-22 at the headquarters of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in Pakistan’s capital.
The high-level regional forum brings together ministers, and senior officials from ECO member states, representatives of the ECO Secretariat and regional and international partner organizations. The event is aimed to strengthen collective efforts toward enhancing disaster resilience across the ECO region, the PID said.
“Key agenda items include regional cooperation on early warning systems, disaster risk information management, landslide hazard zoning, inclusive disaster preparedness initiatives, and Pakistan’s proposal to establish a Regional Innovation Hub on Disaster Risk Reduction, focusing on early warning technologies, satellite data utilization, and risk-informed infrastructure planning,” the statement said.
The meeting was attended by delegations from ECO member states including Pakistan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives of regional and international organizations and development partners were also in attendance.
Discussions focused on enhancing regional coordination, harmonizing disaster risk reduction frameworks, and strengthening collective preparedness against transboundary and climate-induced hazards impacting the ECO region, the PID said.
ECO members states such as Pakistan, Türkiye, Afghanistan and others have faced natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes in recent years that have killed tens of thousands of people.
Heavy rains triggered catastrophic floods in Pakistan in 2022 and 2025 that killed thousands of people and caused damages to critical infrastructure, inflicting losses worth billions of dollars.
Islamabad has since then called on regional countries to join hands to cooperate to avert future climate disasters and promote early warning systems to avoid calamities in future.
