TAXILA, Aug 17: As the federal government has announced three days holidays for Eidul Fitr from August 20 to August 22, officials of various provincial and federal government departments have gone on leave from Friday itself.

People told this reporter that although Friday was the last working day, it was observed that attendance in many government offices remained thin.

The provincial departments and federal bureaus of the city like Wapda, PTCL and Post Office witnessed thin attendance.

It was also observed that attendance at semi-government and private sector departments also remained low as majority of the people had left the city to celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones in their native towns. The city hospitals saw low registration of outdoor patients.

An official in a government department said at least 50 per cent of their employees had left for their hometowns on Friday morning taking Friday as French leave as their holiday would begin on Saturday providing ample opportunity to them to spend time with their families.

Similarly, a large number of private offices reported low attendance. Furthermore, officers at the cantonment boards and almost all provincial departments were also found absent from their respective offices.—Correspondent