17 November 2004	Wednesday	04 Shawwal 1425

LAHORE, Nov 16: Eidul Fitr was celebrated with traditional zeal and fervour in the provincial metropolis on Sunday along with the rest of the country.

Sunday's Eid came as a pleasant surprise to a majority of the people who were expecting sighting of the moon on Sunday evening instead of Saturday.

Traffic on the roads leading to shopping centres and bazaars was jammed when the people rushed out of their homes for the 'chand raat' shopping after the official announcement in respect of moon sighting.

The Eid celebrations commenced with the offering of special prayers at nearly 1,000 mosques, Eidgahs, gardens, parks, playgrounds and open spaces. The biggest Eid congregations were held at the Badshahi Mosque, Data Darbar Mosque, Masjid Wazir Khan, Muslim Masjid, Jamia Ashrafia, Model Town Central Park, Jamia Al-Muntazar, Jamia Masjid Minhajul Quran, Jamia Masjid Nila Gumbad, Masjid-i-Shuhada and the Mansoora Jamia Mosque.

Special security arrangements had been made at the places where Eid prayers were to be offered. However, no untoward incident was reported from any place on account of security steps taken by the police and the public. Beggars had thronged the city and were present outside all places where the prayers were being offered.

People swarmed the zoo, gardens and parks like the Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Racecourse Park, Model Town Park, Lawrence Gardens, Minar-i-Pakistan and Jallo Park in the afternoon. Theatres and cinemas also attracted crowds by starting new plays and releasing new movies. Sweatshops, restaurants and foodstreets also did a good business.

The end of Ramazan also marked the end of price control as all 16 Ramazan Bazaars and some 200 fair price shops opened for selling essential commodities at fixed rates were closed down with the announcement in respect of moon sighting. Fruit and vegetables were also sold at fancy prices on Eid day as the fruit and vegetable markets were closed for Eid holidays.