Dubai: Government departments in the country have announced their working hours for Eid Al Adha holidays, which will begin next week.
Only select branch offices and services of the government departments will remain open — that too for shorter working hours — during the holidays, which will be for one week for the public sector.
The public sector holidays have already been declared from Sunday (August 19) to Thursday (August 23). Work will resume on Sunday (August 26). As for the private sector, the holidays will be from Monday (August 20) to Wednesday (August 22), the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation said.
To mark the Eid Al Adha festival, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that parking at all public paid parking zones will be free across Dubai for six days, from August 19 to August 24.
However, regular tariff will apply through the Eid holidays at all RTA-operated multi-level parking terminals.
In Sharjah, parking will be free in all areas from August 19 to August 24, except in Al Hosn Boulevard in Al Shuwahain and Al Sheyoukh; Birds and Animals Market in Al Jubail area; the Central Market, also known as Souq Al Markazi, in Al Majaz 1; and Buhairah Corniche side in Al Majaz 1, 2 and 3.
Dubai residency and transport
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai said its working hours from Sunday (August 19) to Thursday (August 23), except for Tuesday which will be the first day of Eid Al Adha, at the Customer Happiness Centres at Al Manara Centre, Al Twar New Centre and Hatta will be 9am to 1pm.
The external centre at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport will be open 24 hours all through the week in order to facilitate the completion of customer procedures and ensure continuity of work during the Eid holidays.
Dubai Metro will operate till 2am from Monday (August 20) to Saturday (August 25), and trams will operate till 1am during the same period. As for the bus services, they will be operating as usual during the festival period, but some of the major bus stations will extend their operating hours.
All the customer service centres will be closed during the holiday period.
Health care
Dubai Health Authority (DHA) hospitals and health centres will work as per shift timings and medical practitioners will be on call to ensure work continues as usual.
The emergency departments of all DHA hospitals — Rashid, Latifa, Dubai and Hatta — will function round the clock on all days.
All specialist clinics will be closed from August 20 to 23. The following clinics at Rashid Hospital will be open on Sunday (August 19): cardiology, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, neuro medical, hernia surgery clinic, pre-anaesthetic clinic, general medical clinic, wound clinic, TB clinic, the Trauma & Orthopaedic and General Surgery.
Most medical fitness centres, primary health care centres, and specialised centres will be closed during the Eid Al Adha holidays, except for a few which will remain open on specific days and timings.
Dewa timings
Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (Dewa) has announced that its working hours and closure dates during the holidays will be as follows:
Customer Happiness Centre at the Head Office — August 19: 7.30am to 2pm; August 20-22: Closed; and August 23: 7.30am to 2pm.
The Future Customer Happiness Centres at Ibn Battuta Mall (China Court), Dragon Mart 2 (ground floor) and Dubai Festival City (level 1) are open as per the mall timings.
Abu Dhabi
Bus and ferry services will operate in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra. According to the schedules, bus services will operate as normal on August 19 and 20. On August 21, the first day of Eid Al Adha, bus services will start from 7am, and on August 22, they will operate as usual.
The Abu Dhabi-Al Ain service will be available every 30 minutes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, while usual operations will resume on August 23.
As for ferry services, three trips will be operating to and from Dalma Island every day except for Friday, during Eid Al Adha holidays.
