Oman

Corporates, good Samaritans offer Iftar kits

'Iftar on the go' concept, implemented by those who cared for those people on the move, has been a hit catering to the people of diverse backgrounds as the holy month entered the fourth day.
 
'Iftar on the go' concept, implemented by those who cared for those people on the move, has been a hit catering to the people of diverse backgrounds as the holy month entered the fourth day.
Those who lament the ban on public Iftar as a precaution against Covid-19 have an option of 'take away' Iftar kits offered by a section of people who aim to support the believers to break their fast on time.

It has become a common sight towards the sunset in the capital city as well as other governorates where corporates and good Samaritans offer Iftar kits.

They stand with the kits containing delicious food items at various city corners and hand them over primarily to pedestrians and motorists who pass by.

'Iftar kits for those people on the move is a brilliant idea to show the people that we care and it's a manifestation of how corporates and social workers take care of those who fast from morning till sunset,' says the GM of Mustafa Sultan Exchange which offers Iftar kits for the public at its twenty branches every day.

The Supreme Committee monitoring the developments of the pandemic worldwide stayed the ban on social Iftars along with public Iftar tents. It limited the Taraweeh prayers to those who have taken two doses of the Covid vaccine.

Mass Iftars, special supplications, social gatherings and familial get-together have been a part and parcel of the holy month as this month is all for cementing human to human relations and soul purification. Such gatherings also aim at bridging the gap between the rich and the poor besides reinforcing human bonds.

But the 'Iftar on the go' concept, implemented by those who cared for those people on the move, has been a hit catering to the people of diverse backgrounds as the holy month entered the fourth day.

'I find it not very realistic to reach my room for Iftar in Mawaleh, because I work in Ruwi. I find the corporate Iftar kits a good idea that gives me confidence about fasting the next day,' Abdul Shukkoor, an expatriate labourer, told the Observer.

Social Iftars were held in every hotel where companies offered networking opportunities for their stakeholders and well-wishers in the past, which has been replaced by a miniature version of the Iftar as restrictions on such fathering still exist.

While almost all mosques, Saud Bahwan Mosque in Wadi Kabir, the vast parking lot inside Muttrah Souq, the clock tower area, and many other places hosted the public for Iftar in the past, hotels welcomed corporate guests to their Iftar gatherings which were an attempt to reinforce the bonding with their stakeholders.

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