Early morning rain on the third day of Eid-ul-Fitr turned the weather pleasant in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, giving an additional charm and incentive to people to fully enjoy holidays at parks and public places.
Taking full advantage of the nice weather, thousands of residents including women and children thronged to the parks to celebrate the festivities. The five Eid holidays, announced by the government, also provided a great recreational opportunity for residents of the twin cities.
On the first day of Eid, people remained busy in greeting relatives, friends and near and dear ones, and rushed to different parks on second day of Eid to enjoy the Eid festivity.
Children were seen taking swings while parents were exuberant to see smiles on faces of their children. The main reason of this activity was that the school children were free due to Eid holidays.
A light rain in the evening on Sunday also made the weather pleasant as hundreds of fun-seekers were seen on the Kashmir Highway, and many who were heading to the National Monument. Rush of taxis and private vehicles was also witnessed.
People complained about lack of facilities at parks and high rates of edibles at canteens and cafeteria as well. They were also irritated about having to pay extra money for parking at certain parks.
They called for making entry to parks with parking facilities, free, besides checking and fixing prices of items at canteens.
Shakarparian, National Monument, Zoo (Japanese Park), Margalla Hills, Fatima Jinnah Park (F-9 park), Daman-e-Koh and Faisal Mosque remained the main points where people, including men, women and children, visited and fully enjoyed the Eid holidays.
The Rawal Dam Park in the federal capital, was another place which served as an attraction for people, especially for the children and youth.
The people called for setting up new gardens and allocating places for small parks at housing localities so that the people will not have to cover long distances, which create transportation problems in twin cities.
A large number of people opted for Murree Hills to enjoy Eid celebrations as the weather there was more pleasant during Eid days.
A great rush was witnessed at Ayubia, Bhurban and Nathiagali on the third day of Eid on Monday.
Meanwhile, as part of security measures, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police devised a comprehensive security plan for Eid with the deployment of additional personnel to maintain security.
Under the plan, a beat system was introduced for security at main shopping centres and markets. Policemen have also been assigned duties at bus stands, graveyards and railway stations.
