Making sense of the break

The federal government has announced three-days Eid holidays. The decision has been made without giving regard to the fact that many people who are working in urban cities travel to their homes to celebrate Eid with their families. A majority of Pakistanis rely on public transport for inter-city travelling and during Eid, the transport fare is too high since there are only a few bus companies who resume their services during the holidays.

In places such as Bagh, wagon owners extend their Eid holidays by two to three days which means that even those people who would like to return to work are unable to return because of lack of buses. The federal government must reconsider its decision and announce a public holiday on the third day of Eid as well. To compensate for this holiday, the government may announce the first Saturday of the next month as a working day.

Syed Hussein El-Edroos ( Islamabad )