Beautifying Lahore

Reading the newspaper first thing in the morning, some news brings you satisfaction and some leads you to anxiety. The news of the Yellow Line Metro Train planned to run from Jinnah Terminal near Thokar Niazbeg to Harbanspura impels you to imagine how the train will run along the Lahore canal and what about the beautiful trees all the way. Trees take years to grow and cutting them down takes hours.

The construction of the rather costly project is planned to start in September 2025 and complete in June 2026. This stretch of canal from Harbanspura to Thokar Niazbeg already presents a lovely site. It’s a pleasure to drive along it despite the rowdy traffic. I have written manyarticles on the chaotic traffic conditions.

It’s hard to understand why the Punjab government is determined to focus its attention on beautifying and developing Lahore and leaving the rest of Punjab in its present state. For instance, instead of constructing train lines along the Lahore canal, the government could have decided to construct new technical schools and vocational institutes in underdeveloped districts like Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzafargarh and Layyah.

The illiterate and jobless young men instead of shifting to main cities for jobs could have learned various trades and gone to the Middle East for better paying jobs. They would have earned to sustain their families back home by remitting foreign exchange to the country.

In any case, one may ask why Lahore is the centre of attraction for the PML-N. What about other big cities, for instance, Multan – the city of saints?

Another proposed project is the Nawaz Sharif IT City sprawled on 853 acres of prime land near Phase 6 and 7 of DHA, Lahore. The Central Business District Development Authority is entrusted with its development. The CBD has raised multi-storey buildings where Walton airport once existed. As the name suggests, the business district will be occupied by various interest groups, including the diplomatic missions as it was initially announced. But it’s the IT City in the name of the former prime minister that matters. Why couldn’t this project be set up between Bhera and Kalar Kahar, for instance? The land on both sides of the motorway is infertile, and so is ideal for setting up a new city. Besides, water and electricity are readily available along the road.

In developed countries, new cities are established in barren areas by setting up professional colleges and universities. With time, these institutions develop into big cities. Why go far, in fact? Our own University Town in Peshawar was once considered to be at a long distance from the main city. Now it has become a hub of modern commercial buildings on the roads and well-planned residential houses in the vicinity.

Mian Nawaz Sharif deserves the credit of setting up the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. He was much criticised when the project was in progress. Now looking in retrospect, what a messy situation the travellers would have had to face if there was only one main road – the G T Road. However, the Motorway traversed through barren and mountainous terrain. On the contrary, there’s no urgent need to set up a train system along the Lahore canal.

The Orange Line Metro Train running from Raiwind road to Dera Gujran covers nearly 27 kilometres. Passing through the main city, it provides a comfortable and efficient transport system to its passengers from one end of the city to the other end. When Orange Line Train operates successfully, there’s a proposal for establishing the Blue Line Train system following the Yellow Line Metro Train along the canalin Lahore.

People have a right to question if Lahore is the only city to develop on modern lines and the remaining cities of the province will be left to their undeveloped fate.

The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore. He can be reached at: pinecity@gmail.com