Tonga- the Lahore’s carriage. This was the primary mode of conveyance in the old days. These days you can find some in the outskirts of the town and maybe within the walled city.
A newspaper quoted Munshi Sharif, a kochwan at a tonga stand outside Delhi Gate as saying:
The tonga was a pollution-free transport, while motorcycle rickshaws emitted poisonous smoke due to which most of the people of the northern Lahore were suffering from respiratory affections, he said and added that presently tongas were plying only on a selected roads, like from Masti Gate Khokhar Road and from Salamatpura to Rashidpura.
Tonga is not a polution free mode of transportation . A recent study proved that one of the bigger pollutants in the world are animals who emit lots of methane into air. Source Its excrements pollute the roads. In USA I have seen the horses that pull the buggies in some cities have a sack tied around their back under thair tail so their excrements do not pollute the road.
hmm..i wonder if the amish folks also tie sacks around their horses...mirch, do you know if they do?
you bring up a good point about methane emission..but i'm sure environmentalists can grill the issue either way with carbon emissions or the methane. hmm. anyways. elegance was talking about tongas from a cultural viewpoint...so, how much are the tongas still a part of pakistani culture?