Bus terminals overcrowded as people return after Eid

Govt offices open, but attendance remains thin

RAWALPINDI: Despite the end of Eidul Fitr holidays, the government offices in Rawalpindi and Islamabad witnessed low attendance.

Many government employees taking advantage of Saturday, skipped one day from office to join office on Monday availing an extended holiday of three more days.

For holiday-hungry people, work had stopped on Friday, May 31, though the government had announced a four-day holiday from June 4-7 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday).

On Saturday more than half of the officers and employees did not return from their hometowns and converted a working day into a self-holiday.

All the government, semi-government and private offices which reopened on Saturday observed very low attendance after the four-day Eid break. The festive mood was prevailing in most of the offices, and office employees including officials and staff were seen exchanging Eid greetings with their colleagues.

Similarly, the same thing was observed in courts where there was a thin attendance of litigants as well as of lawyers and judges despite it being a working day. Work activities are expected to return to normal from Monday.

Crowded stations

People have started coming back to the twin cities after celebrating Eid holidays with their families in their native towns. The return has created a great deal of rush at bus stations of the twin cities.

The transporters overcharged passengers at this instance as the government transport staff also observed holidays. The transporters charged extra for the luggage. All the buses returning to the city were packed with passengers.

However, the locals of twin cities faced immense difficulties as the local route buses were also given the responsibility to drive on long routes before Eid holidays.

Bus transport owners told The Express Tribune that they were short of drivers. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2019.