LAHORE, July 15: Relatively improved weather allowed a number of families and friends to turn to recreational spots on Sunday.

As the weather was pleasant in the evening, Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Bagh-i-Jinnah and Racecourse Park saw unexpected gatherings, mostly families coming from various parts of the city.

“The pleasant weather has allowed men to enjoy a day out with family,” said Saleem Khan, a government employee who was enjoying weather at Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park. He said it was unusual weather in monsoon. He said people preferred to spend a few hours in the open to avoid outages.

Farhan Majeed, the principal of a private school who came along with his staffers on a day-long trip to Lahore from Okara, said they visited Badshahi Masjid, Fort and Shalamar Gardens. “And now we are at Bagh-i-Jinnah, enjoying every bit of it.” The visitors had brought eatables from homes to “avoid overcharging by facilities at the park”.

Hassan Rasheed, a student who, along with his friends was enjoying sports at Racecourse Park, said there was freshness in air and enjoyable weather. He said the scenes at the park showed people had forgotten all their worries and were spending leisurely hours with dear ones.

Chaudhry Javaid Shaida, a spokesman for the Parks and Horticulture Authority, said they had made special arrangements in all public parks of the city to facilitate a number of people visiting these places.

“We have increased the number of security officials besides ensuring cleanliness at all parks. The PHA has also extended closing time till 11pm,” he said.

He said the PHA administration was also monitoring the cafeteria/canteen contractors to check standard and rates of eatables. It had also restored an abandoned park at Allama Iqbal Town’s Khyber Block on Sunday.