Lahorites throng canal to cool off

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, May 25, 2009
By Our Correspondent

LAHORE

THE increasing heat and ongoing loadshedding have made the canal one of the most visited places in the provincial capital.

A rush of youngsters, majority of them bare-chested, was witnessed at different points of the canal on Sunday as its cool water gave a relief to the heat-stricken people.

The visitors were seen diving and screaming with joy while taking dips into the canal without thinking that the city canal was polluted.

Temperature reached 42c on Sunday and the routine life came to a standstill. The only activity people could think of was going to the canal at noon for taking bath. Traffic on roads remained quite low but a rush of vehicles was witnessed on the Canal Road. A number of youth were also seen riding bikes on the road while heading towards the water parks near Jallo.

The Met officials recorded minimum temperature in the city as 24c while dry and hot weather with a little chance of mild dust storms was predicted for Monday (today).

A Met official said the entire region was in the grip of intense heat wave for the last couple of days and there was an expected increase in the heat wave during the remaining days of May.

On the other hand, the environmentalists warned bathers of skin and other diseases because of polluted canal water.

A survey conducted by the Punjab Environment Protection Department identified various colonies and factories, especially many carpet-washing units, as the major polluters of the canal because they were discharging their toxic effluent into the canal. Despite all this, the canal was serving as the most favorite bathing place for thousands of Lahorites in summer.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=179441