TOBA TEK SINGH: Faisalabad Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Nadeem Nasir has said that all eight bazaars around Clock Tower are being made vehiclefree to facilitate pedestrians.

Addressing a traders meeting here on Monday, he assured them that the administration would provide sufficient parking facilities outside the bazaars. He said vendor carts will be relocated to designated spots where they will also be supplied with free electricity. Specific timings for the loading and unloading of goods in the bazaars will be enforced, and residents living in the area will have access to parking services.

Mentioning the importance of the eight bazaars in terms of business activities, he said that there are no such markets anywhere.

He also revealed plans to introduce a fleet of beautiful rickshaws that will transport the buyers to the markets after they will park their vehicles outside bazaars.

The DC said a Lunda Bazaar has been completed on Rajbah Road, offering ample parkingspace, and efforts are underway to expedite the completion of a parking plaza. He said the Clock Tower Chowk and its surrounding markets would become Pakistan`s first major markets to offer highquality pedestrian facilities and entertainment opportunities.

He said the city`s parking company had generated a profit this year and that the entire parking system would soon transition to e-ticketing. Two model bazaars are planned for Satyana Road and Narwala Road. The locations used for Ramazan bazaars will be repurposed throughout the year, with plans to establish Lunda Bazaars at these sites.

LOHRI FESTIVAL: Lohri was celebrated in the Catholic Church at Warispura in Faisalabad.

The event was held in collaboration with Lok Vehar, a non-government organization working in development sector.

Comrade Shahid Murshid and Dr Toheed Chatha said people enjoyed the festival that had a bonfire. Gurmeet Singh-led group did Bhangra and sang songs to pay tribute to Dulla Bhatti. Girl students performed Gidda.

RAPE: An unidentified motor-cycle-rickshaw driver allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl with the help of his accomplice at Gojra on Monday.

Complainant `I` of Wazir Park locality alleged in his first information report registered under section 376 of Pakistan Penal Code that his daughter was waiting for a rickshaw near motorway M-4 interchange on Jhang Road at Gojra when the suspect asked her that he would drop her at Chak 428 JB where she was to go to her aunt`s house. But he took her to a roadside crop with the help of an accomplice. The driver allegedly raped her and later threw her near the interchange.

The girl was shifted to Gojra THQ hospital.

Police are investigating the matter.

BURNT TO DEATH: Abdul Ghafoor, 70, security guard, burned to death in Muslim Town Phase 1, Faisalabad, on Sunday night. Rescue 1122 said that the deceased had lit firewood for warmth, which accidentally set his quilt and bed sheet ablaze.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, but Ghafoor was found dead.