LAHORE, May 12: Union councils of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) hired over 1,000 daily wagers on Saturday for the Islamabad rally.

A CDGL source told this reporter that the UC nazims, who could not get at least 50 people for the rally, rushed to spots like Bhati Gate, Shahdara Morr, Shadbagh Gol Market, Lal Pul at Mughalpura and Multan Chungi to hire labourers.

The labourers were offered Rs400 to Rs500 for the day, besides free lunch and dinner. Those who agreed were taken either to Badami Bagh or Qadhafi Stadium where over 200 air-conditioned buses were waiting for them.

One representative each of the nine town administrations were present at the Babu Sabu and Kala Shah Kaku interchanges of the motorway to count people going to Islamabad, he said.

The buses started moving from Badami Bagh and Qadhafi Stadium after 9.30am and the last bus entered the motorway through Babu Sabu interchange at 2.35pm, the source said.