Eid Al Fitr likely on Monday

The first day of Eid Al Fitr is most likely to be on Monday, Al Sharq reports, quoting Qatar Calendar House (QCH).

Dr Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Ansari, General Manager, QCH, said the new moon heralding the dawn of the lunar month of Shawwal will rise at 1.43am on July 28. So July 27 will be the last day of Ramadan.

Eid Al Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal. According to Dr Al Ansari, the crescent moon will rise for eight minutes at 1.43am and will set, so it wouldn’t be visible.

Saudi Arabia-based news website Alqam.com also said the first day of Eid Al Fitr was likely to be on Monday, citing calculations by  astronomers. It added that Saudi authorities though, don’t go by such calculations and hearsay about crescent moon sighting to declare Eid.

In Qatar, the Ministry of Interior announced that its service centres that provide visa issuance and renewal services, among other things, will remain open during Eid Al Fitr holidays, from July 27 to August 4, from 8am until noon, according to Qatar News Agency.

QNA cited a ministry statement as saying that the Directorate of Traffic, the General Directorate of Evidence and Criminal Intelligence will also work from 8am to noon during Eid holidays.

Anticipating that government offices would be closed during Eid holidays, a lot of people rushed to these departments on Wednesday and yesterday to get their work done. The immigration service centre in Abu Hamour, for instance, witnessed a large turnout of people on Wednesday for visa issuance, mostly for family members.

The rush was so huge at night that officials had to close the doors after 10pm to prevent people from entering the premises.

Qatar Stock Exchange said Eid holidays will be four working days from July 28 until July 31. Work resumes on August 3.

The Peninsula/QNA | Photo by MR ST