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Services resume slowly as holiday ends
By Irfan Mohammed & MD Rasooldee, Arab News | 4 August 2014
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/news/saudi-arabia/611386

Jeddah/Riyadh--Government and private sector offices in the Kingdom reopened Sunday after nearly two weeks of holidays on account of Eid Al-Fitr. Several offices reported low attendance on the first day back, with attendance expected to return to normal starting Monday.

Banks and telecom offices reported brisk activity on the first day, as hundreds of customers lined up to make transactions that had been halted during Eid. The Saudi Passport Office also witnessed a large turnout of customers on the first day of work. Several residents showed up at the office to update passport details and business reps requested additions to official documents despite most services being available online. “One wouldn’t expect to see such a huge crowd on the first day,” said Mansour Al-Refai, a private firm rep who waited his turn.

The traffic police headquarters on Sahafa Street was also a busy venue on the first day. Roads, however, remained relatively calm due to the ongoing summer holidays, with schools reopening later this month.

Foreign diplomatic missions in Jeddah were officially open, but there was little activity save death-related cases since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office was still closed.

Restaurants, supermarkets and bakeries, meanwhile, are slowly returning to normal, while furnished apartments and car rental sectors are now experiencing lower demand after two weeks of booming sales. Grocery store owners in local neighborhoods also complained of the continuing losses incurred owing to the school vacations. "Even though Ramadan is over, the school holidays mean that we are still not making enough money,” said Abdul Hakeem, a Bangladeshi salesman manning a grocery store.

The Bureau of Investigation & Public Prosecution has dispatched several teams to check on attendance at various ministries, according to some sources.

(End of article)

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