Rawalpindi - The residents of twin cities celebrated Eid-ul-Azha with religious zeal and fervour. Heavy rain also hit twin cities turning weather pleasant. According to Met Office, Rawalpindi and Islamabad received 25mm rain. Hundreds of Eid congregations were held while people offered Eid prayer at mosques, Eidgahs, Imambargahs and other open areas amid tight security. Big Eid congregations were held at Liaquat Bagh, Eid Gah Sharif, Islamia Seminary at F-Block, Gordon College Ground, Viqar-un-Nisa Ground, Daral Aloom Hanfia Usmania Ganjmandi, Jamia Mosque Bahar-e-Madina, Rawal Road, Jamia Masjid Abu-al-Qasim Jan Colony Tench, Rawalpindi Medical College Ground Tipu Road, Jamia Masjid Khatim-ul-Nabiyan Neelam Colony, Jamia Masjid Westridge, Jamia Masjid Bilali Arya Mohala, Jamia Masjid Akbari Mohan Pura, Jamia Masjid Zia Hanfia Gulzar-e-Quaid, Jamia Masjid Wapda Colony Mareer, Liaquat Bagh, Jamia Masjid Riaz-ulJanat Kuri Road, Markazi Eid Gah Gawalmandi, 22 Number Chungi, Jamia Masjid Morgah, Jamia Masjid Gulzar-e-Madina Dhama Seydan, Jamia Masjid Gulshan-e-Abad, Rukhshanda Masjid Adyala Road, Jamia Masjid Rajgan Dhamial Road and many other localities. Special prayers were offered for the progress and prosperity of the country, unity of the Muslim Ummah, solution of their problems and liberation of Muslim territories, including Indian held Kashmir. On the occasion, tight security arrangements had been made by Rawalpindi and Islamabad police under the surveillance of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan.
Hundreds of Eid congregations held in twin cities
In Murree, security had also been beefed up by district government and police amid rush of tourists. Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Noor Ul Amin Mengal, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Tahir Farooq and CPO Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari also visited the hill station and reviewed the arrangements made for facilitating the tourists on eve of Eid ul Ahza. Moreover, scores of wellequipped policemen besides Elite force commandos and lady police have been deputed outside bazaars, shopping centres and sensitive public and private buildings. Strict security measures had also been adopted outside the Eid congregation, while police kept patrolling. City Traffic Police, following the instructions of Chief Traffic Officer Navid Irshad, also facilitated the citizens by making the traffic flow smooth. In Murree, the wardens also controlled traffic mess successfully. More than 10,000 vehicles packed with tourists entered Murree in first three days of Eid. CTO Navid Irshad was also in field to guide wardens and to control rush of traffic. The government also launched free of cost Murree bus service for Eid to facilitate tourists. The piece of daily use items including onion, tomato, potato, green coriander, chillies, garlic, ginger, mint, yogurt and milk were jacked up by the shopkeepers before and during Eid holidays with no action on part of district government against profiteers in the twin cities. Soon after offering Eid prayers, people greeted each other “Eid Mubarak,” slaughtered sacrificial animals, distributed the meat among their relatives, friends and poor people and visited graveyards laying floral wreaths and offering Fateha. City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari, SSP Operations Wasim Riaz, Divisional SPs Rana Abdul Wahab, Ahmed Zunair Cheema and Babar Javed Joya and Regional Police Officer (RPO) Imran Ahmer offered Eid Prayer at Police Line Number 1 and greeted to cops. Earlier, CPO paid a visit to the city to monitor the deployment of cops to maintain law and order situation. The CPO also visited houses of police martyrs and called on their families to greet them Eid wishes. Similarly, IG Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, DIG Operations Suhail Zafar Chattha, SSP Operations Malik Jamil Zafar, SSP Traffic Dr Syed Mustafa Tanveer and other senior and junior officers offered Eid-ul-Azha in Police Line Headquarters. Later in the evening, people planned a number of programmes. Some arranged BBQ parties at their homes while a number of families headed towards public parks (Ayub Park, Zia Park, Jinnah Park, Nawaz Sharif Park, Lake View Park) and other resorts like Murree, Pir Sohawa, Daman-e-Koh along with children. Traffic remained off the road. The prices of onion, potato, tomato, green chillies and mint remained high. Tens of thousands of citizens also headed towards Murree. Because of heavy deployment of traffic wardens, the traffic situation remained under-control on Murree, said a spokesman to CTO. He said traffic police have placed special pickets with squads to thwart one-wheeling. He said the traffic situation in Murree remained under control due to a special traffic plan prepared by CTO Navid Irshad. “A large number of vehicles entered Murree during Eid holidays and traffic police managed the mess despite having less space for parking,” he said. He said the CTO himself went to Murree and patrolled on roads and checked duty points of wardens. Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal along with IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan and district government high ups arrived at Murree to witness the arrangements by district government and police to facilitate the tourists. “Punjab government is utilising all the available resources to provide maximum facilities to the tourists and families visiting hill station to celebrate Eid,” said Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal. He ordered the district government and police department heads to remain vigilant to tackle any kind of emergency situation in case of heavy rains predicted by the Met Office. “Besides maintaining law and order, one should guide tourists and the families,” he said. Provincial police chief Rao Sardar Ali Khan appreciated efforts of CTP wardens and jawans and officers of Rawalpindi police for imparting duties in Murree. The special price magistrates are taking strict action against profiteers and hoarders on the eve of Eid ul Azha, claimed Commissioner Noor ul Amin Mengal. He said the government also increased number of buses in the fleet moving between Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Murree to provide free of cost travel facilities to tourists and families, he said. RPO Rawalpindi Region Imran Ahmer said that besides controlling law and order situation in the region, the Murree Tourism Police are helping and guiding the tourists on hill stations with dedication and commitment. On the other hand, the civic bodies including Rawalpindi Waste Management Company, Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and Chaklala Cantonment Board have completed the operation clean-up in the city by lifting tons of offals of sacrificial animals. According to a spokesman of RCB, the sanitary workers have lifted tons of remains of animals during the first three days of Eid. He said the CEO RCB monitored the operation. Meanwhile, the residents of Potohar Town lodged complaints that the district government had failed in lifting the offals from their areas properly. However, Rawalpindi Waste Management Company spokesman informed mediamen that a total of 8,125 tons of offals were picked up by the sanitary workers of civic body from the city during three days of Eid. Likewise, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) MD Muhammad Tanvir put the sanitary workers of civic body on high alert to facilitate people during rain. “The management and workers of WASA are present in low lying areas of Rawalpindi to pump out rain water with help of heavy machinery,” said WASA spokesman Umar. He added the MD and other senior officers are continuously monitoring the situation of water in Nullah Leh and other seasonal nullahs in the city. He added the water flow in Leh is normal with water level recorded 4-5 feet at Katarian and under Gawalmandi Bridge respectively. “WASA is fully prepared to tackle any kind of emergency during or after rain,” said Umar, the spokesman.
Hundreds of Eid congregations held in twin cities
In Murree, security had also been beefed up by district government and police amid rush of tourists. Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Noor Ul Amin Mengal, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Tahir Farooq and CPO Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari also visited the hill station and reviewed the arrangements made for facilitating the tourists on eve of Eid ul Ahza. Moreover, scores of wellequipped policemen besides Elite force commandos and lady police have been deputed outside bazaars, shopping centres and sensitive public and private buildings. Strict security measures had also been adopted outside the Eid congregation, while police kept patrolling. City Traffic Police, following the instructions of Chief Traffic Officer Navid Irshad, also facilitated the citizens by making the traffic flow smooth. In Murree, the wardens also controlled traffic mess successfully. More than 10,000 vehicles packed with tourists entered Murree in first three days of Eid. CTO Navid Irshad was also in field to guide wardens and to control rush of traffic. The government also launched free of cost Murree bus service for Eid to facilitate tourists. The piece of daily use items including onion, tomato, potato, green coriander, chillies, garlic, ginger, mint, yogurt and milk were jacked up by the shopkeepers before and during Eid holidays with no action on part of district government against profiteers in the twin cities. Soon after offering Eid prayers, people greeted each other “Eid Mubarak,” slaughtered sacrificial animals, distributed the meat among their relatives, friends and poor people and visited graveyards laying floral wreaths and offering Fateha. City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari, SSP Operations Wasim Riaz, Divisional SPs Rana Abdul Wahab, Ahmed Zunair Cheema and Babar Javed Joya and Regional Police Officer (RPO) Imran Ahmer offered Eid Prayer at Police Line Number 1 and greeted to cops. Earlier, CPO paid a visit to the city to monitor the deployment of cops to maintain law and order situation. The CPO also visited houses of police martyrs and called on their families to greet them Eid wishes. Similarly, IG Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, DIG Operations Suhail Zafar Chattha, SSP Operations Malik Jamil Zafar, SSP Traffic Dr Syed Mustafa Tanveer and other senior and junior officers offered Eid-ul-Azha in Police Line Headquarters. Later in the evening, people planned a number of programmes. Some arranged BBQ parties at their homes while a number of families headed towards public parks (Ayub Park, Zia Park, Jinnah Park, Nawaz Sharif Park, Lake View Park) and other resorts like Murree, Pir Sohawa, Daman-e-Koh along with children. Traffic remained off the road. The prices of onion, potato, tomato, green chillies and mint remained high. Tens of thousands of citizens also headed towards Murree. Because of heavy deployment of traffic wardens, the traffic situation remained under-control on Murree, said a spokesman to CTO. He said traffic police have placed special pickets with squads to thwart one-wheeling. He said the traffic situation in Murree remained under control due to a special traffic plan prepared by CTO Navid Irshad. “A large number of vehicles entered Murree during Eid holidays and traffic police managed the mess despite having less space for parking,” he said. He said the CTO himself went to Murree and patrolled on roads and checked duty points of wardens. Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal along with IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan and district government high ups arrived at Murree to witness the arrangements by district government and police to facilitate the tourists. “Punjab government is utilising all the available resources to provide maximum facilities to the tourists and families visiting hill station to celebrate Eid,” said Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal. He ordered the district government and police department heads to remain vigilant to tackle any kind of emergency situation in case of heavy rains predicted by the Met Office. “Besides maintaining law and order, one should guide tourists and the families,” he said. Provincial police chief Rao Sardar Ali Khan appreciated efforts of CTP wardens and jawans and officers of Rawalpindi police for imparting duties in Murree. The special price magistrates are taking strict action against profiteers and hoarders on the eve of Eid ul Azha, claimed Commissioner Noor ul Amin Mengal. He said the government also increased number of buses in the fleet moving between Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Murree to provide free of cost travel facilities to tourists and families, he said. RPO Rawalpindi Region Imran Ahmer said that besides controlling law and order situation in the region, the Murree Tourism Police are helping and guiding the tourists on hill stations with dedication and commitment. On the other hand, the civic bodies including Rawalpindi Waste Management Company, Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and Chaklala Cantonment Board have completed the operation clean-up in the city by lifting tons of offals of sacrificial animals. According to a spokesman of RCB, the sanitary workers have lifted tons of remains of animals during the first three days of Eid. He said the CEO RCB monitored the operation. Meanwhile, the residents of Potohar Town lodged complaints that the district government had failed in lifting the offals from their areas properly. However, Rawalpindi Waste Management Company spokesman informed mediamen that a total of 8,125 tons of offals were picked up by the sanitary workers of civic body from the city during three days of Eid. Likewise, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) MD Muhammad Tanvir put the sanitary workers of civic body on high alert to facilitate people during rain. “The management and workers of WASA are present in low lying areas of Rawalpindi to pump out rain water with help of heavy machinery,” said WASA spokesman Umar. He added the MD and other senior officers are continuously monitoring the situation of water in Nullah Leh and other seasonal nullahs in the city. He added the water flow in Leh is normal with water level recorded 4-5 feet at Katarian and under Gawalmandi Bridge respectively. “WASA is fully prepared to tackle any kind of emergency during or after rain,” said Umar, the spokesman.
