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LAHORE: The Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA) says the number of people visiting parks and recreational sites in Lahore and other cities during three Eid holidays has reduced considerably by 35pc or so due to intense heat sweeping across the province.
“But even then nearly a million people braved the heatwave and visited parks and recreational places managed by the respective horticulture agencies in Lahore and 21 other districts,” the PHA spokesperson told Dawn on Friday.
The Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park in Lahore recorded the highest fall with around 42,000 visitors.
Racecourse Park attracted approximately 28,000 visitors, while Bagh-i-Jinnah welcomed 22,500 people. Greater Iqbal Park received around 15,000 visitors and Jallo Botanical Garden nearly 10,000.
Rawalpindi witnessed better turnout at public parks. Rawal Park recorded over 40,000 visitors, while Commercial Market Park and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan Park received 26,400 and 25,080 visitors, respectively. However, Allama Iqbal Park remained closed owing to arrangements related to the Australia-Pakistan cricket series.
In Faisalabad, Bagh-i-Jinnah attracted nearly 10,000 visitors, followed by Nawaz Sharif Park with 4,500 and Kashmir Park with 3,600 visitors.
In Sargodha nearly 120,000 people visited six major parks in the district, largely to offer Eid prayers. Eidgah Park, Company Bagh and Hanif Shaheed Park each received more than 100,000 visitors on the first day of Eid because of congregational prayers.
However, visitor numbers declined considerably on the subsequent two days.
In Bahawalpur, Farid Park received over 6,000 visitors, while Shahdara Park and Special Children Park welcomed 5,630 and 2,500 people, respectively. Gujrat matched Lahore in terms of highest footfall at a single park, with Nawaz Sharif Park drawing around 42,000 visitors. Ladies and Children Park attracted nearly 25,000 people, while the historic Inayat Park at Fawara Chowk recorded around 9,000 visitors.
In Jhelum, Altaf Model Park received around 1,200 visitors and Akram Shaheed Ladies Park over 2,000. Rahim Yar Khan also witnessed significant turnout, with City Park attracting 21,000 visitors, Zam Zam Park 13,000 and Khanpur Adda Park close to 5,000.
Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026
