ISLAMABAD Religious fervour and happiness on the faces of the citizens of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad mark the Eidul Fitr celebrations. Thousands of people dressed in new clothes thronged mosques across the twin cities on Eid day morning to offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr before heading off to enjoy elaborate feasts with relatives and friends. People also visited relatives to exchange Eid greetings and attended family parties. TV channels telecast special programmes on Eid Day. Children wearing new clothes showed off their 'eidi and flooded the streets, adding colour to the festival. Eid-ul-Fitr is also a festival of sweets with the markets flooded with traditional delicacies. People make 'sevian and 'phirni, amongst a host of other preparations, at home. Throughout the day, people met friends and relatives, and exchanged greetings and gifts. After praying at the local mosque I will go to my friends place where all of us will enjoy. Later in the evening we have planned a big family gathering, said Moinuddin, a resident of Satellite Town, Rawalpindi. On all three days of Eid the weather remained hot. Cinemas and fast food outlets of twin cities also witnessed a great rush of people. At the same time, a large number of people could not succeed in joining their family members on this memorable event, i.e. the people living in orphanages and old peoples homes of the capital city. Perhaps for them the concept of celebration of Eid with family members had of no significance. Social and non-governmental organizations remained active on this occasion to assist the downtrodden segments of the society. PAYYAM Foundation, Helping Hand, Al-Khidmat Foundation and Muslim Aid are prominent among them, who made special arrangements and announced different programs, to make Eid of poor worthwhile. These organizations with collaboration of each other distributed special packets of food and Eidi gifts among the poor and needy people in different areas and hospitals of the twin cities. Capital city is still presenting a deserted look, however, its recreational spots remained packed with people during Eid holidays. Islamabad, a boutique city of the country is deprived, even on this happy occasion, of its residents, as a large number of residents fled towards their hometowns to celebrate joyful moments of Eid with their kith and kin. Low attendance in educational institutes and governments offices is being expected in this week. Many private schools will remain closed for the week. People of the adjacent city, Rawalpindi, thronged towards citys recreational spots to make the Eid moments memorable. People from every walk of life participated actively in Eid Celebrations. Beside a religious festival, Eid has become a cultural and societal festival of Pakistan. On the eve of this occasion, minorities remained side by side to celebrate this event and they took part in the celebrations. People also thronged to the graveyards to offer fateha for the departed souls of loved ones after Eid prayers. A heavy rush of flower sellers was also witnessed at the entry points of these graveyards, who were found busy in selling flowers at very high prices. Public transport during eid holidays remained off the road, which forced the citizens to hire cabs and other private vehicles. During eid holidays the traffic police in Rawalpindi did not care for violators, however, they remained busy to control the traffic on signals to evade any traffic jams on busy arteries of the city. Almost all the recreational spots of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including the Shakar Paryan, Pakistan Monument, Rawal Dam, Lake View Park, Damn-e-Koh, Pir Sohawa, Fatima Jinnah Park, Nawaz Sharrif Park, Ayub Park, Safari Park, Race Course, Jinnah Park appeared packed with a huge rush of people where they seemed enjoying every moment of the Eid festival.