Population influx in Lahore and its effects on the city

The world has witnessed a rapid change in last few decades. The glamour and amenities offered by the big cities has enticed people in rural areas to migrate there. They do not think twice before giving up the luxury of peace they enjoy in their rural and/o smaller cities. And willingly accept the substandard and hard city life.

Lahore, being the capital of Punjab attracts people from all around the province. The city has been the hub of trade, culture and heritage from last many centuries.
Resultantly Lahore real estate became the top choice for migrants. This high population influx is now showing its grave effects on different sectors of the city. The major sectors which have been burdened by the overpopulation are: Health, education, sanitation, transportation and infrastructure of the city.

With increasing population, the living standards of people have decreased, which can be witnessed in slums of Lahore. The sanitation and cleanliness is one of the most apparent factors seen in these less developed areas. The piling up heaps of waste, small and wrecked streets flooding with drain water and later mixing in drinking water reservoirs is causing diseases like diarrhea, dengue, cholera and contagious skin infections.

Although huge development projects are on their way but are not up to the expectations. Transportation sector of the Lahore is also lacking behind as the space available for roads have shrunken as the number of people using vehicles are increasing day by day. Public transports are deteriorating, buses and coaches are overloaded and due to lack of management and revenue collection, the condition of public transportations is continuously deteriorating.

Many housing projects are also under construction and show a promising future, but in actual these projects are inviting more people to the city. The main problem is that no real estate development is made in the central Lahore city. Rents are surging and due to inflation, the buying power of individuals is decreased to minimum level, which ultimately makes the property sector totally unstable.

Lahore Property sector is also affected by this population influx. Although the city is expanding at a rapid pace and outskirts of Lahore are now an equally developed part of the city but this expansion has not brought any change in the Lahore real estate’s current situation. The poor management and scarce and uneven distributions of resources have affected the entire social setup and consequently Pakistan real estate sector is also seeing a minimum of activity.