By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, April 30: After two years of battling Covid-19 and being unable to go home, Muslims are gearing up to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri just like the old days now that the country has transitioned to the endemic phase.
The celebration may be about three days away, but the traffic congestion in major roads in Kuching started at least a week ago.
Take Jalan Satok, for example, the traffic nightmare usually starts at about 4pm. However, it lasts until late at night this month as not only is it contributed by the people returning home from work but also the people who are busy shopping for food to break fast with at Satok Ramadan Bazaar and visiting Satok Aidilfitri Bazaar for some festive shopping.
As the celebration grows nearer, roads in both Kuching and Samarahan are either jammed or filled with slow-paced traffic as people are doing last-minute shopping for the festive season.
However, this is not enough to dampen the spirit of the people to brace for the traffic as they have switched on their ‘Raya mood’ button and are mentally ready to ‘balik kampung’ (return to their hometowns).
In a Facebook post today, Plaza Merdeka, one of the most frequented shopping malls in Kuching, informed that its premises is packed with crowds, with no more parking spaces available in its two-storey parking basement.
“We do understand that the last-minute festive shopping rush can get a little overwhelming. Kindly bear with us and take care of your shopping finds and personal belongings as well as your little ones.
“We do have to close our parking momentarily when it is full in order to ease the congestion. Please bear with us.
“Kindly be reminded that there are additional parking spaces at Saujana parking nearby. Please be sure to park only in legal parking spaces. Enjoy the festive mood and happy, safe shopping!” it said.
The same crowd-traffic applies to other shopping malls like The Spring at Simpang Tiga, Aeon Mall at Jalan Datuk Patinggi Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, VivaCity at Jalan Wan Ali, and Boulevard at Jalan Datuk Tawi Sli.
Thus, DayakDaily wishes to advise all road users whether they are on their ‘balik kampung’ trip or whatever, to be patient and vigilant while on the road to reach their destination safely and celebrate a joyous Hari Raya.
Despite the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions, the people are also advised to continue to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of Covid-19. — DayakDaily
