Life creeping back to normal in twin cities

Sohail Rashid

After portraying a deserted look for almost a week, life is slowly returning to normal in twin cities as people are returning from their hometowns after celebrating Eidul Fitr with their families and relatives.

A large number of people, residing in twin cities in connection with their jobs, go to their hometowns every year to celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones. These people mainly belong to Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Murree, Abbottabad and Southern Punjab. They are living in twin cities for their studies or jobs. These people go to their homes for celebrating Eid with their families and relatives and Rawalpindi and Islamabad becomes deserted during that period.

Shakir Abbasi, a resident of Shamsabad, said: “It is good to see people coming back to Rawalpindi after celebrating Eid. Rawalpindi had become a ghost town during Eid holidays.”

Hanan Gul, a university student, said that he enjoyed a lot with his family on Eid, but at the same time he missed the company of his friends too who went to their villages for Eid. “I didn’t go out anywhere during the last few days because my buddies were not in town,” he said.

“It is very difficult to drive on roads during normal days due to mad rush of traffic. It is also hard to find a parking space for my car in markets. All these things are a part of my life now and I feel out of place seeing deserted roads and streets,” said Najeeb Anjum, a resident of Sir Syed Chowk. “I cannot imagine Rawalpindi without its trademark hustle and bustle,” he said.

Sameera Siddiqui, who has come to Islamabad from Karachi after her marriage, said: “The capital is nothing short of a ‘dead city’ on Eid. I have come from Karachi where there is a lot of hustle and bustle on festive occasions. I literally cried on the Eid Day after seeing deserted roads and streets.”