Qatar, along with Muslims across the world, has been celebrating Eid Al Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, with a plethora of activities such as entertainments, visiting families and friends, sharing food, caring for the less-privileged etc.
There are celebrations in every nook and corner of Qatar tailor-made for different sections of the community. Hundreds of entertainment events ranging from music shows, film screenings, circus, horror house, fireworks to name a few, are lined up.
But one event stands out among all these and the organisers of the same deserve much applause. The ‘Mega Eid Al Adha Cultural and Infotainment Celebrations’ organised by the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Interior not only drew thousands of spectators but turned out to be the biggest infotainment programme for everybody who was in attendance. The MoI organised the celebrations at the Asian Town and Asian Accommodation City in the Industrial Area, an area where thousands of single workers reside. Thousands of people who thronged the venue were overwhelmed by the different activities which were on offer.
A variety of awareness programmes presented by the different departments of the MoI proved to be a crowd-puller and imparted unparallelled information and awareness about road safety, fire safety, drugs prevention law, services of the Human Rights Department to the public, pedestrian safety and services rendered by the Community Policing Department, Search and Follow Up Department and Visa Services Department.
The Public Relations Officer of the MoI, Lieutenant Hamad Al Jahweel Al Marri, said the Ministry was keen on organising such programmes in various locations of Qatar with the aim of providing a safer environment in a closer location for the members of the expatriate communities, including employees and workers of different companies to celebrate Eid Al Adha and to enhance and strengthen cooperation and communication between the MoI and expatriates by providing safety and security tips during these events.
Those who attended the celebrations could walk home with a treasure of information which were otherwise very difficult to gather for most of them. They were dependent on hearsay or the advice by the staff in the offices of their companies, which were, most often, half baked cakes.
The Public Relations Department at the MoI should be lauded for their untiring efforts in creating awareness about different laws, rules, regulations and safety measures among the tens of thousands of people hailing from diverse countries, speaking a variety of languages.
Often, officers from the department visit companies, schools and workplaces armed with leaflets detailing the different services offered by the MoI and laws and regulations prevailing in the country to create awareness. They also conduct demonstrations on firefighting and other safety efforts. The Eid celebrations, where thousands of people gathered, provided and excellent opportunity for the department to reach out to the common man.
