Continuing progress on its pilot project, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has launched ‘E10 Gasoline’, now in Lahore, after its run in Islamabad and Karachi.

The Lahore part of this pilot project, like in Islamabad and Karachi, will be conducted for six months involving 25 pre-identified vehicles to be run on Ethanol-blended gasoline. Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) will be monitoring these vehicles through this time.

‘E10 Gasoline’ is ten-percent ethanol and its success can prove to be a significant progress in terms of developing an important alternative energy resource. It can readily be available in an agrarian country like Pakistan; is very environment friendly; cheaper and enhances engine performance by removing lead deposits.

This one step can become the first significant initiative in reducing our increased dependence on imported fuel, and can be really helpful in providing cheaper and environmental friendly energy solution to our country’s thriving economy.

So what is the best place to have Iftar in Lahore? Personally I don’t have any preferences and if given a choice, I would prefer home :).

Drummres and dancers welcome a bus from India at the Wagah border crossing on World Tourism Day.

Credit: Daily Times

I came across this interesting piece of news article today regarding our radio stations. To be honest, I wasn’t aware that our radio stations had lagged so far behind in the technological boom that appears to have spread to so many other areas in our country. Apparently, this is the first time, our radio station systems have been upgraded in over 20 years.

There are three studios at the radio station, of which two have been computerised for the launch of Channel 3, a new entertainment and public service message channel. Radio engineers had long been asking for better equipped studios. Sattar Syed, director of Lahore Radio Station, said Channel 3 programmes – especially Lahore Online, Punjab Rung and Youth Magazine – were getting immensely popular, not only in rural areas but also in cities. He said that the radio was the mode of communication of the future because people were becoming too busy to find time to watch TV. He said Radio Mela was one of the most popular programmes of Lahore Radio, in which a radio team, including some of the legendary comperes such as Ghayyur Akhtar and Khalid Abbas Dar, went to various towns and cities and listened to people’s problems. District administrations cooperated with the radio team, the station director said, and tried to resolve the citizen’s problems highlighted in the programme.

I apologize to our readers for my two week absence. My studies have started once again and the course load of medical school leaves me very little time to be able to post regularly, however; I will try my best to keep the post intervals to a minimum.

Today we will finish off with the tour of the Lahore Fort. Over the last few months, we have gone through numerous buildings and structures spread throughout the fort and I hope I was able to spread some of my love for Lahori history to my respected readers. I am aware that I probably did not cover all of the interesting places in the fort but I hope that these posts have raised at least some level of curiosity among the readers in that, if possible, they would visit the Lahore Fort themselves to take in some of the things I have missed and also to fully enjoy for themselves the buildings and structures I presented here in a pictorial tour of the Lahore Fort. Though, we will finish our tour of Lahore Fort today but the Lahore History Tour will continue on and hopefully highlight many of the numerous other historical sites and structures in Lahore.

Now, on to today’s post….making our way out of the Moti Mosque, we head down a passageway leading down to the Elephant Gate, which is currently used as an exit point from the fort.

Passageway inside the fort leading to the Hathi Pol (Elephant Gate).

Hathi Pol was built by Shah Jahan in 1632. It was meant to be exclusively used by elephants carrying the royalty. From this splendid gateway begins the renowned picture wall of Lahore Fort.

One of our visitors pointed out to this wonderful website that works as an online blood donors resource with registered individuals and institutions.

The website is called PakBlood

It’s a wonderful initiative to save lives, whenever they can be, by timely supply of donated blood.

We hope it keeps functioning like this and continues helping those in need of it.

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Story Credit: Aamir Mahmood

Punjab Government’s Planning and Development Department is initiating a traffic redesign project for one of Lahore’s busiest and most mis-managed roads; Ferozpur Road.

The project will be implemented on a 16-kilometre stretch between Mozang Chungi and Khaira distributary. Initially it will include improving the service lanes; addition of an exclusive bus lane for almost 500 buses that use this road daily; removal of encroachments; redesigned bus stops; computerization of traffic signals and installation of speed cameras; setting up of a traffic control room at Liberty or Garden Town, and handling of the new system to a newly trained force of traffic police.

Almost 136,000 vehicles use this road on a daily basis while there are 15 intersections with signals on a 11 kilometre stretch between Qurtaba Chowk and Lahore General Hospital, thus, making its redesigning a big and difficult challenge.

While millions of Pakistanis suffered due to a several hour long total power blackout throughout the country, our President did too; but in a different manner.

Strong rumors about Pervez Musharraf undergoing a heart surgery in Paris, Texas and a false news about military coup in Pakistan while he was in the US, compelled world’s largest online store, Amazon, to slash cover price of his upcoming autobiography, ‘In the Line of Fire’ from $28 to $16.

Now, this may have cost Musharraf a good deal of money despite him recieving an approximate amount of $1million as advance payment from his publishers.

You can also check out reviews by some readers who claim that they already have read it within few hours of its release. Amazon.com

Regardless of all above, ‘In the Line of Fire’ is selling like hot cakes throughout Pakistan. Almost all leading book stores in Lahore are reporting empty shelves in just 24 hours of its release. The price tag here in Pakistan remains un varried at Rs.1,295 as compared to its stated Rs.1,200.

Now, this is something a ruling unpopular leader may not have dreamt about…

You fight all year. Jihaad. Struggle in the way of Allah.

As I say this, should I be running from the FBI now? Some elements have successfully hijacked the beautiful word of Jihaad and tainted it with horrific acts of terrorism. But nonetheless, one’s gotta do what one’s gotta do. And that is ‘Jihaad’.

In this month of Ramzaan, Ramadhaan or however you want to spell it, you get to get back to the training grounds. Practice. To be perfect. In struggling towards the One and Only. Yes! Pray, seculde yourself, pray some more. Ask and get. Simple.

Weeding in progress… may the blessings of this great month be upon us all!

Aameen SumAameen.

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From LIFE ETC

This year saw Gourmet launch its own packaged milk and ice cream through a business move that we call downward vertical integration. Today, Gourmet has own milk collection network, thus, directly acquires the raw material for many of its products including bakery, sweets and now, ice cream and packaged milk itself.

In addition to ice cream and packaged milk, what’s relatively new at Gourmet is desi makhan (butter), ghee and yogurt.

Gourmet, surely is on the right course to progress. They’ve got the brand, awareness, credibility, the retail network, phenominal store traffic and have huge expansion plans to turn their one time modest bakery to a full scale food retail and marketing business giant, for now, at least on national level.