It was not unprecedented to observe virtually empty classrooms and very thin attendance at public and private sector organisations, while around half of the business centres and shops in the federal capital remained closed on the first working day after Eidul Azha.
Though government announced three official holidays, from Monday (November 7) to Wednesday (November 9) in addition to the regular weekly holidays on Saturday and Sunday (November 5 and 6), it was noticed on Thursday that activities were not resumed at offices, businesses and educational institutions fully, as majority of the Islamabad’s residents have not yet returned from their native areas. It is expected that normalcy will return at the Federal Secretariat, educational institutions and business centres with the beginning of the new week (Monday, November 14) as many people are already on leave for Thursday and Friday.
This scribe was also told that only the permanent residents of the twin cities were seen at the offices and the educational institutions.
A government servant said regular working would resume on Monday, as most of the offices in opened on Thursday but were without enough staff. Similarly, attendance at schools and colleges was observed at its lowest, the reason being the same – the large-scale exodus of students to their native towns to celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones.
Talking to Pakistan Today, the principal of a public sector school said the reason for low attendance was that students and teachers had left for their villages and hometowns. “Most of them left Islamabad on the weekend since availability of transport on the eve of Eid is always very limited,” he added.
“The study routine has also been disturbed owing to the low attendance of students as well as teachers. Most of the students remained idle and teachers preferred not to advance with the course work so as not to leave those behind who had left the city for Eid.”
Meanwhile, parents outlined transportation difficulties as main reason for early departure. “Transporters charge high fares on Eid and seats too are available in very limited number due to a large number of travellers,” he said.
A citizen, Hamza Khan, said he had been unable to leave his native city for Islamabad on Thursday morning owing to excessively large crowds on all the bus stands. “I waited in line for two hours, but was unable to get tickets for my family and eventually all of us had to return home,” he added.
Answering question about his children lagging behind in studies due to absence from school, Hamza said, “The teachers prefer not to move ahead with work on the first day after Eid holidays as they know that several children have not returned back. Therefore, I am not worried about my children missing schoolwork.”
Talking to this scribe, Azhar Awan, the president of Federal Government Teachers Association (FGTA), said “This was expected. Most teachers are away in their hometowns and the academic activities will hopefully resume on Monday,” he said.
Meanwhile, the number of public vehicles plying on roads also remained thin, adding to transportation problem of those few who wanted to join work or resuming their business. “It is a normal exercise because the owners usually do not bring their vehicles on roads after sensing that majority of the people are not back in the city,” commented a commuter.
But it resulted in long queues of passengers waiting on various bus stops to be ferried out to their destinations.
Arshad Malik, a government servant at the Zero Point bus stop, said they had been waiting for public transport for quite some time but the vans packed with passengers were appearing after long intervals. “I believe, the drivers who belonged to far flung areas left for their native homes grounding their vehicles and they did not come back so far,” he added.
The residents feared that in absence of ample public transport in these days, the cab drivers would hike fares at their will.
“We have been experiencing for the last couple of years that in absence of sufficient public transport on city roads, the taxi drivers fleece people with extra charges ahead of Eid days and after when there is thin public transport plying on roads,” Aamna Raza, a housewife commented.
