Lahore is a town known for good times. It seems the people here are always in the mood to have fun. And when nothing else is happening, people simply head out to the park to amuse themselves.

There is a lot to be said for picnicking in the city during this season; the air feels cool and smells of wintry things like smoke and wet leaves, the sun gleams brightly but gently, and parks and benches are populated by families out to have fun. The weather may feel cold but the ambience is so warm.

Winters is a beautiful time to be outside, particularly when the outing involves a blanket to sit on, and a lunch that includes thermoses of hot soup, closely followed by scalding cups of hot tea. Carrying old-fashioned picnic baskets, holding bats and balls for a friendly game of cricket, equipped with an array of sporting activities for the children, spending recreational time and relaxing in public parks on winter Sundays is the new thing that families from Lahore are indulging themselves in.

Muhammad Iqbal, 66, a retired civil servant, is the proud grandfather of 5 grandchildren. They like to frequent the Race Course Park nearly every Sunday in winters. His regular group consists of his wife, two sons and daughters-in-law and his grandchildren. Other than that, various members of the extended family also accompany them from time to time.

The big cauldrons laden with food are proof to the fact that preparations were made well in time for this Sunday activity. The afternoon meal is taken at the park amidst lush greenery and vast open spaces. While the children play with their cricket kits, the adults prefer to bask. "I am physically challenged so it does me good to stretch out here and soak the sun."

Tayyab Malik, 40, is a big fan of outings in the Park. "It gives us a chance to relax and de-stress, while the children get onto the swings and do not want to leave until it is time to go. That gives us some time amongst ourselves to discuss issues and gossip!" His is a varied group that includes his wife, and his children, his mother and father-in-law, his sisters-in-law, their respective husbands and children. "You know how it is when two or more women get together. All they want to do is talk, talk and talk and that's what we mostly end up doing here."

Like most of the crowd, the Maliks also prefer to have their lunch at the park. "We choose to bring our own food because it will be healthier as compared to that sold here at the cafeteria and also because the cafeteria prices are too steep for us. Therefore, we cook our own Biryani, fry some potatoes and carry fruit with ourselves. Our picnic basket is always full of sandwiches, samosas and other knick-knacks because we generally tend to stick around as long as well after Maghrib."

"This is the only entertainment my wife and I have from our monotonous work routines," says 38 year old Ali Akbar, who works as a marketing executive at a Warid Telecom franchise. Tabinda Ali is a school-teacher and together she and her husband are parents to four children; two boys aged seven and five, respectively and two small baby girls- aged two and one respectively.

Usually they come as part of a big family group because "communal activities such as these casual hang-outs always have a positive effect on relationships. My children play with their cousins while I get to sit and talk with my in-laws. Ours is not a joint family system, thus it gives us a chance to get closer to other relatives and have fun with them.

"Besides, this park is well-guarded and comparatively a lot safer than most others. Sundays are the only time my wife and I have got that we can spend with the family. Therefore, even if other family members cannot come out on a particular weekend, my wife and I make sure that at least we do. Children bring their cricket kits with them, and skipping ropes and it also gives us a chance to unwind after a hectic week in our respective offices."

Tabinda has brought soup, kebabs, French fries, and some oranges because "the kids like to play here for at least three to four hours. They wake up late on Sundays and take their time in getting dressed. They do not like being rushed and so we function at our pace. Therefore, we usually end up having a late lunch." The couple gets their own disposable plates and spoons. "In the end we put all of it in one big plastic bag and off it goes into the trash can before we head home!"

A prominent young architect is seen accompanying her three young children into the park as I leave. Such a diverse group, such variegated stories, all in Lahore, all in one place, on any given Sunday winter afternoon!

Lahore's I I Chundrigar Road is neither as busy nor as famous as the road with the same name in Karachi. And, going by Punjab capital's wont of doing things differently from its counterpart in Sindh, it is also called by another name -- Naseeruddin Road.

Still the two roads bear one striking similarity: They are unsafe by the same rate.

Naseeruddin Road is an otherwise sleepy street, almost half a kilometre long, that connects southeastern Krishan Nagar, aka Islampura, with that neighbourhood's centre. When the street does not have enough light, it is ruled by criminals. And sometimes they don't even wait the dusk to fall to do what they like and want. Mobiles and wallets are snatched regularly and women don't venture out in the street in the evenings for fear of getting robbed. I am sure in the police ledgers there will be hardly any account of any incident that has happened on Naseeruddin Road.

Let me tell you why. Some months ago, a cousin of mine wanted to get his complaint registered by the police after his car was ransacked in front of my house located at the eastern end of Naseeruddin Road. He first tried to persuade me to use my journalistic 'influence' to get things done for him. After I failed to muster enough courage to visit the police station, a place I have never been, he had to be on his own. He went to Islampura police station but, after spending three hours there and paying Rs 2000 in bribes, he could not get the first information report (FIR) registered. All he got was what in police parlance is called a 'report' -- a mere description of what had happened to the car. For his brand new vehicle, he needed something concrete to claim insurance. Not to be.

Anyone losing their mobile phones and wallets on Naseeruddin Road are treated with much less courtesy by the police. Only weeks ago, my landlord's son and his friend who lives in the house next door lost their cell phones and wallets as they were chatting right in front of their homes. Two young men approached them with a gun and snatched what they wanted. The police was duly called in but nothing happened afterwards, not even a 'report'.

My nephew who was robbed only the other day did not even wanted to mention the police as he told me how two bike-riding, gun-wielding young men had deprived him of his phone and money he had. He was visibly shaken, his moist eyes carrying unmistakable signs of disorientation which result from severe and sudden shock. His voice was trembling yet he refused to let me call the police.

Certainly Naseeruddin Road in Lahore is not as unsafe as I I Chundrigar Road in Karachi because police records show it to be so. But going by what is happening on the street every day, its residents must be thinking about a name change.

The need for speed seems to be a powerful driving force in the human psyche. Travelling from one place to the other has come a long way since horse drawn carriages. Today, real speed freaks go beyond the standard vehicles and make their cars undergo a range of modifications. City street is the arena for racing souped-up versions of conventional cars or thorough-bred sports types.

The sport of street racing, whether spontaneous or at a pre-decided location, involves most commonly a straight-stretch drag race across a typical distance of a quarter mile.

The Lahori underground street racing has been quite active for the past couple of years. Racing in unmodified, factory rolled out models has always been taking place in areas such as Gulberg Main Boulevard, the Mall Road and along the embankments of the Canal. As some enthusiasts started to experiment with their machines by having alterations done such as replacing the spark plugs and wiring, fuel and air filters and exhaust systems, they took to speeding along deserted roads during nighttime.

The popular cars of choice have been the GLI and XLI versions of Toyota Corolla, various models of Honda City and Civic, especially with the VTI ones having the more advanced and powerful VTEC engines.

Serious racers however began to tire of the 100 or so odd brake horsepower (bhp) provided by ordinary road going wheelers. They started employing drastic measures to crank out more performance and thrust from their motorcars by having the whole engine and related transmission, suspension and chassis upgraded. Such upgrades cost anywhere between Rs 2-7 lacs and commonly involve engine swaps of the B16A, 20v and H22A types. They boost up engine output anywhere from 150 to 200 bhp; and with additional enhancements such as turbo and superchargers, NOS kits (Nitrous oxide as fuel), the beast of a machine can sprint even faster.

In the post 9/11 scenario in Pakistan, expatriate remittances flowed in and gave the economy as well as the fortunes of the privileged few an artificial boost. The boom in the property market provided the investors a lot of extra cash, out of which a major portion was spent on the import of luxury cars. Along with the high end Mercedes and BMW saloon models and Lexus cruisers, the racing fanatics followed up on acquiring their dream machines. Earlier racing models of the nineties had included an occasional Toyota Sera with the trademark gull wing doors. But now the 'bad boy' types such as Mazda's RX-8, Nissan's 350Z, Toyota's Supra and of late the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Nissan Skyline are rearing their heads.

These charged monsters are capable of churning out 200 to 500 bhp and go from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 6 seconds. These cars posses awesome power relative to the ordinary roadsters and their unique features and striking looks have led to quite a following growing around them.

"Initially these cars used to be quite expensive, such as around Rs 30 to 40 lacs. But now as prices have come down to anything from between Rs 15-25 lacs, a number of people are opting to buy them and perform slight modifications instead of dumping a couple of lacs in traditional automobiles," says Umer, owner of the shop Max Power Motor-sports on Main Boulevard Defence that deals exclusively in installing performance parts and customised accessories.

With the development of new housing societies and phases of existing ones, the ardent street racers of Lahore have found venues besides Gulberg main Boulevard and Khayaban-e-Iqbal to demonstrate their high-speed driving skills. Of recently, a dedicated group of underground racers has been using the nearly traffic free main boulevard road of DHA Phase 6 on Sundays every fortnight or so. Their usual routine is to gather at Hot Spot in 'T' block commercial area around afternoon and then make their way towards Phase 6 via Phase 5, Bedian Road or the airport link road. Once there, they hold proper races with results and everything for about 2 hours or so.

The competing models are normally those of Suzuki such as Cultus and Baleno, Toyata's XLIs and Honda civics, Mitsubishi Lancers, with the highlights being the Supra, 350Z and RX-7 & 8 ones. The races are normally of drag type which basically tests the drivers' ability to shift gears smoothly and quickly coupled with the internal performance of the car depending on its make and upgrades. Prominent racers are known by their aliases such as Topracer, Levin and the outcome of a race can be decided up to an accuracy of 1/6th of a car length.

The spectators, meanwhile, take pictures and make video clips with their cell phones which may lead to interesting analyses later on. A number of Bikers are also present on the scene, doing wheelies and short sprints, but the tarmac belongs to the four-wheelers (and I don't mean the quad-bikes).

Unfortunately for these speed addicts, after the race sessions of January 7 and 21, the DHA security has become very vigilant and stringent in restraining all sorts of racing activity in the vicinity of Defence, especially the popular Phase 6. With recent tragic accidents of a baby of only a couple months being killed in a car accident, the authorities are showing a lot of concern.

The fact of the matter is that places such as Phase 6 and other societies under development offer virtually safe and obstruction free spots for car and bike racing. In the absence of purpose built racing tracks and strips or officially arranged road racing venues, the amateur racers have taken it upon themselves to seek out suitable zones to attain their 'speed-highs'.

There have been reports that the Punjab Government is developing a racing track near Jallo Park, along with an entire Sports City costing around Rs 30 billion. But as projects in Pakistan go, this will quite probably take unspecified amount of time in being realised. In the meantime, the concerned authorities should block a segment of a road for one or two hours every Sunday or so and allow races under supervision. -- in the interest of public safety as well as of the participants. There is fat chance it would attract sponsorships and media coverage so important to take this sport to the next level.

Every other person in complains about traffic congestion and other problems related to it. Leading town-planners and architects, government officials and environmentalists have all put this problem on top of those confronting the people of Lahore. Many blame it all on the fast increasing number of new vehicles which has crossed the 1.5 million figure.

Masood-ul-Haq, Director Excise and Taxation Lahore (Zone C), thinks the number will be doubled in next five years. Others hold encroachments, poor governance, improper planning, worn out road infrastructure etc as responsible for the traffic mess.

The concerned parties all keep passing the blame buck. Here is an example of what many of them have to say:

For Amjad Hussain, a resident of Garhi Shahu Lahore, public transport is the main problem. "All types of vehicles in Lahore have been increasing rapidly while buses and wagons used for public transport have been decreasing," he says.

Conservationist and activist Dr Ajaz Anwar thinks most of the traffic problems are due to encroachments on roads. "Government has awarded contracts for parking slots on every road. Footpaths define the roads but they too are encroached. Pedestrians are bound to walk on roads that creates problems not only in traffic flow but also for them," he says. Dr Ajaz says it seems no planning is involved in handling Lahore's traffic nor are the road users ready to observe laws. "We have to change this attitude if we want to save our city," he adds. To him good public transport alone can reduce half of the traffic problems of Lahore. "There is no other way to address traffic problems," he adds.

Government officials know all the problems very well but are not sure about the authority responsible for addressing all these issue. Agha Nadeem, secretary Punjab Transport Department, tells TNS that 60 per cent of traffic problems in Lahore are because of lacuna in traffic planning and management. According to him after devolution plan 2000, it is the duty of city district government Lahore to develop road infrastructure and plan traffic while traffic police is responsible for managing traffic on roads.

"City district government has not developed a traffic planning cell in the last six years. In fact we have not been able to manage traffic. Everybody is plying vehicles on roads the way he wants and it seems nobody is there to check him," says Agha Nadeem. It is right that roads network in Lahore is being developed but it is not integrated, he says. "Roads are not properly linked with each other."

Lahore city district government Nazim Mian Aamir Mehmood was unavailable to speak on the issue, despite several attempts. "He is busy in a very important meeting," was the response from his office every time throughout the week.

Chief Engineer Traffic Engineering and Planning Authority (Tepa) Khushhal Khan too admits that there are lots of traffic problems in Lahore. According to Tepa findings, between 1975 and 1999 the vehicle growth rate in Lahore corresponded with the population growth rate which is around four per cent a year. "But after the year 2000, vehicle growth rate in the city suddenly jumped up to 14 percent a year and it is increasing constantly," he tells TNS.

But these rapidly increasing vehicles are not the real problem, he says. "The main traffic issue is congestion not because of lack of infrastructure but because the existing infrastructure is not being used properly. Nobody can deny importance of flyovers, underpasses and expansion of roads in managing traffic. But 80 per cent of traffic problems can be solved if we have synchronised signals on all the main and linking roads with proper signs and marks and strict implementation of traffic rules," he says. "Roads are meant for traffic and not for parking. In Lahore we have hundreds of parking spots on the main roads, most of them illegal and illogical."

The city of Lahore has 60,000 rickshaws and around 20,000 wagons. The absence of rapid mass transit and buses will make it impossible to handle traffic in the city.

There should be no road expansion project minus footpaths and cyclists. The reducing number of cyclists in the city is not a good sign at all. According to Tepa's data, till the late 1970s cyclists who made 33 per cent of the total traffic of city have now been reduced to 15 per cent. "There are two reasons; first, the city roads have become very dangerous for them, second, average travelling distance in Lahore has almost doubled in the last thirty years. In 1980 the average distance a person travelled within the city in a day in routine was eight to ten kilometers while now it is 18 to 20 kilometers," Khushhal Khan tells TNS.

He too admits that the coordination among different government functionaries responsible for traffic planning and management is not very efficient and it may be one reason for traffic problems in Lahore.

City Traffic Police Chief Wasim Ahmed Sial says that traffic police is managing traffic in the given resources very well. "How can traffic police alone manage traffic with so many issues, like encroachments and road users are not ready to observe traffic rules?" he asks. "The infrastructure development which this government is doing now should have been done 20 years back."

The Punjab government's move to register kite flyers as well as the kite and twine manufacturers before lifting ban on the sport, has complicated the issue. Most of the kite flyers are in a fix whether to get themselves registered or not.

Punjab government on Saturday last promulgated Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying (Amendment) Ordinance 2007, incorporating in it the recently announced measures to make the sport and its allied business people-friendly. The new law has enhanced punishments for violators. The earlier ordinance was promulgated on Oct 21, 2006. A related bill already approved by the Punjab Assembly's standing committee concerned was pending approval.

According to the amended ordinance, people intending to fly kites on rooftops of their houses or of any building, or at a public place like a park during the permitted days would have to seek prior permission from the concerned union nazim.

Copies of the permission would have to be submitted before the SHO of the police station concerned, giving an undertaking that the applicant would not use or allow the use of prohibited kites and twine or any other dangerous material (like tandi or metal wire). No one would be allowed to fly kites without permission even during the permitted days and violations would lead to six-month imprisonment and Rs 100,000 fine.

A number of kite flyers interviewed by The News on Sunday strongly rejected the law under which they have to get themselves registered. "In case I get myself registered and an accident occurs in my area, the police will directly come to my house and arrest me whether it's my mistake or not," says Khurram, a resident of Faisal Town. He suggests the government should regularise the sale of twine and its manufacturers should be stopped from making very strong twine to avert accidents instead of registering kite flyers.

Muzammil, a resident of Samanabad, says if he does not get himself registered, he would be arrested. And if he follows the law and goes for registration he has to go through a tedious procedure for that.

"This move will create problems for kite flyers besides discouraging people from participating in the cultural event," says Muhammad Iftikhar, a professional kite flyer. He says the move will open new venues of corruption for the city district government as well as police and they will not allow or issue license to the people who are not 'cooperating'.

Abdul Waheed, who is known to be a pioneer in organising Jashn-e-Baharaan festival in Lahore and is known as 'Dada Ustad' in kite flying sport, says making registration mandatory for kite flyers is an impossible thing to do. "Do you think the union council Nazim and SHO will give permission to every person of their area to fly kite. They don't have so much time and if some untoward incident takes place, once again it will be difficult to fix responsibility," he says, urging the government to amend the ordinance.

"Let's assume that the local residents manage to get themselves registered for flying kites. What about the non-residents of Lahore who come here from different parts of the country to celebrate the occasion. What about the foreigners and Pakistanis living abroad who are planning to come to Lahore to enjoy the event," he maintains.

Basant festival is the identity of Lahore but now India has planned to celebrate Basant in different cities. Several Indian tv channels are advertising this in which they claim to celebrate the event like it is celebrated in Lahore.

The government announced to hold basant festival because last year it lost millions of US dollars in revenue and this year India announced to hold this mega event to attract thousands of tourists who used to come to Lahore every year. "Basant is not only a festival for kite flying, it has become a major source of income in the provincial metropolis as it provides work to hundreds of thousands of people and accelerates economic activity," says Abdul Waheed and suggests the government to save this cultural event from being hijacked.

The new ordinance continued ban on kite flying as it was imposed under the previous law. It retained the three-year imprisonment for violators besides enhancing fine from Rs 40,000 to Rs 100,000. Punishment for violation of the rules was prescribed as six-months imprisonment and Rs 100,000 fine.

Sheikh Saleem, Chairman All Pakistan Kite Flying Sports Association (APKFSA) said the association tabled a number of suggestions to the government to make the sport attractive and safe. "We are constantly in touch with the government and want proper legislation before reopening of the sport," he says, pleading protection of lives is the first aim of the association.

Under the amended ordinance the government announced introducing reduced size of kites, certain strength of twine, its harmless preparation and ban on spool (charkhi) through rules of the ordinance framed by the provincial government. Sheikh Saleem says this was done on the recommendation of the association.

The only way to stop accidents is to impose restriction on plying motorcycles in the city without a safety antenna. "The antenna is the cheapest measure that can reduce incidents to zero," he claims. All the motorists should be directed to use antenna while the government should direct all motorcycle manufacturers to fix antenna on every new bike. He also claims that the government has agreed to this suggestion.

"We have also proposed the government to identify some places outside the city like Jallo Park and Raiwind so that anyone who wants to fly kite could go there and enjoy the activity," he says.

He concludes that the association will not celebrate Basant if it is allowed for two days only. He also appeals to the Punjab government to quash all the cases already registered against kites and twine manufacturers to enable them to rejoin their former business in peace of mind.

The new ordinance has authorised the district governments to form a single registered association of kite manufacturers in a district. The association would comprise of kite sellers and manufacturers and it would perform the role of a self-accountable body, ensuring the preparation and sale of only the prescribed kites and twine to eliminate use of dangerous material. It would also, under the law, report violations to the government for action.

It's early morning and you are trying your best to send your children to school in time. Suddenly, there is a power breakdown. You may be left waiting for time periods ranging from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Chances are that you would be unable to find children's clothes and iron them, prepare breakfast for them or check that everything is in place. And when you try calling the telephone line at the concerned Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) sub-division and find it constantly busy or unattended.

This is what the residents of Lahore are frequently faced with nowadays. What is worse they are made to read press statements like: 'There is no loadshedding in the city', 'customer service provided by Lesco is improving day by day', 'power outages if any are scheduled and public informed beforehand' and so on. Officials releasing such statements are hardly aware of the reality faced by the people. Or is it a job requirement; not to accept that anything is wrong anywhere?

The denial comes at a time when Wapda has openly accepted that there is power shortage in the country. The authority, in the words of its Member Power Anwer Khalid, has convinced gas supplying companies to increase its gas supply to Wapda. This way the authority would be in a better position to get additional power and to bring the loadshedding to an end in the country. In winters, power production decreases as dependence on thermal power units increases, hydel generation goes down due to drop in water level at reservoirs and closure of canals etc, especially in the Punjab.

Mustafa Raza, a resident of Wassanpura, tells The News on Sunday that it's the consumers who are the worst sufferers in such cases. "Every day we have power outages in our area. If we contact the SDO, he says there's no loadshedding and terms tripping or some ongoing repair work as the reason for power suspension. When we approach linemen or line superintendents, they tell another story and call it scheduled loadshedding. No doubt, they don't want to go in the field and find out the fault."

He says it's hard to believe that there is no loadshedding nowadays "especially when the proposals such as having a five day working week and closing down commercial activities after sunset to save electricity are being floated by the rulers."

Zameer Hussain Kolachi, Deputy Manager Lesco tells TNS that there is no loadshedding in any area falling under the distribution company's jurisdiction. "The problem with us is that the word loadshedding is being associated with any disruption whatsoever that occurs in the electricity supply system. Even when the lights go off in a running train or it enters a dark tunnel, people say it's loadshedding," he says.

Zameer says the power outages in the city are mainly for the reason that repair work is going at a fast pace. But before suspending supply, Lesco issues timetable to the people in advance so that they can adjust their daily routine accordingly. "The scheduled plan is sent to newspapers for publication as well as pasted on Lesco website," he says.

"Though, occasionally, there are unforeseen disruptions also but the fault in those cases don't lie with us. There are trippings due to wear and tear in the existing infrastructure, load increase on transformers, change in power consumption patterns and kite-flying despite the imposition of ban on it ," he says.