Like many previous years, the bus stops in twin cities are flooded with passengers as thousands prepare to proceed to their native towns to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.
This is a decades old practice where people start preparing to proceed to their native towns days before the event falls. They throng the markets, they shop for families waiting at their villages and get their seats booked to avoid the heavy rush during the last days of Ramzan.
During all this exercise they feel a different kind of pleasure – a pleasure of joining sweet relatives back at home because and a pleasure to presenting gifts and sharing prayeRs
People have started leaving for their homes to celebrate Eid ul Fitr with their families and friends since last Saturday. But the rush has already reached its peak as many people also desire to offer Juma-tul-Wida in their native towns.
All the long routes vehicles were already booked to the max and the jam packed terminals of Faizabad, Pirwadhai, Karachi Company manifest still a heavy rush of people facing difficulty to get a seat.
Arslan Zahid, a father of three children, who had to leave for Bahawalpur, is running from pillar to post to secure seats for his family. But he had to bear the brunt of a late effort to book a seat.
He said that his busy routine has created distances and it is only Eid when all of his family can come together and spend time together. He said every year he tries to take three to four extra leaves at Eid so that he spends more time with family members but it is always very difficult to get seats in Eid days.
Everyone is in hurry to reach their destinations and transporters take advantage of it, demanding double the fares, he commented.
He asked the concerned authorities to take action and seek a permanent solution to this problem, which people face at festivals like Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Azha.
