Fun-seekers, picnickers make the most of last day of Eid

This year, four Eidul Fitr holidays happened to combine with the weekly holidays of Saturday and Sunday

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of picnic lovers including women and children on Friday - third day of Eidul Fitr - visited various recreational places including parks, zoo and cinemas to mark the last day of Eid

This year four Eid holidays were announced by the government that happened to be combined with the weekly holidays of Saturday and Sunday providing a long recreational opportunity to the citizens.

Jubliant and excited people taking full advantage of the long haitus went out of their way to have a merry time.

After traditional exchange of Eid greetings with their relatives, friends, dear and near ones people they flocked to hotels and food streets to enjoy the special occasion.

City's main parks including Nawaz Sharif Park, Ayub National Park, Lake View Park, Jinnah Park, Rawal Road Park, Shakarparian Monument, Fatima Jinnah Park, Daman-e-Koh, Wild Life Park Lohi Bher, Faisal Mosque witnessed jam-packed rush of a large number of people on the third day of Eid.

The city zoo and the adjacent children's park also attracted a large number of people especially families. It was really a heartwarming occasion to see smiles and cheer on the faces of people especially children.

Girls were seen squealing with excitement as they tried to get high on swings while children were laughing and screaming on merry-go-rounds. The adults were exuberant to see smiles on the faces of their children. The fact that Eid has come in summer vacations and there is no school the next day has doubled the fun of the festive occasion.

The people were complaining about lack of facilities at the parks and high rates of edible items at canteens and cafeteria as well. They were also irritated while paying extra money for parking most of the parks.

They were of the view that the government should make entry to all the parks with parking facilities free and the prices of all items at canteens should be checked and controlled by the authorities concerned.

A large number of people were also seen traveling towards Murree Hills to enjoy Eid celebrations as the weather of Murree Hills has been very pleasant particularly on Eid days.

A large number of fun seekers also visited Murree and adjoining areas to enjoy the pleasant weather at Murree, Nathiagali, Donga Gali, Ayubia, Changla Gali and other scenic resorts.

Most of the visiting families brought their own food, while youngsters with cooking utensils were busy to make food. Some of the youngsters traveled on motorcycles to the hilly areas. The Islamabad police deployed around 1,000 personnel to safeguard different picnic points of the federal capital to avoid any untoward incident.

According to a police spokesman, as per the directives of Inspector General of  Police Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan, foolproof security arrangements were put in place to facilitate citizens visiting amusement resorts along with their families. Under the arrangements, police were undertaking special patrolling of all the picnic spots to give a sense of security to the picnickers. Police commandos and Counter Terrorism Force personnel were also performing duties at various locations.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2019.