Tourists throng Murree on Eid to enjoy pleasant weather

ISLAMABAD: As is the case every Eid for the last several years, tourists thronged to Murree and surrounding areas to spend the Eid holidays as well as enjoy a respite from the summer sun. 

Visitors who managed to reach Murree complained of soaring prices of food items and other commodities, as well as the hike is rates of hotel rooms. 

Police officials said on Tuesday around 3,000 vehicles have so far entered Murree in the first two days of Eid. Every year, the Murree Expressway is choked as tourists from across the country head to the Northern Areas. 

In the last few years, authorities have been forced to close down further entry to the hill station owing to the bumper-to-bumper traffic jam along the highway. 

Police have also asked visitors, especially those travelling on motorcycles, to restrict from parking on the roadside to take selfies as it leads to traffic jams. 

In Islamabad, the traffic police said more than 800 people have been fined for reckless driving. 

Islamabad Traffic Police SSP Malik Matloob Khan said 220 motorcycles have also been impounded in various police stations.

He said a total of 1,320 people were fined on the first day of Eid, adding that over 20 pickets have been set up in the capital to stem wheeling and other dangerous stunts by motorcyclists.