With the khareef season inching towards an end in Salalah, the national capital Muscat got a feel of it on Tuesday with the flow of vehicles coming back from Salalah to Muscat and finally dispersing to other destinations.
The reason behind the influx of cars is the opening of educational institutions, particularly schools, which are opening on September 4.
“Salalah witnessed an excellent khareef season this year, and the charm is still there, but we had to come back due to schools of our children. The academic season is starting from September 4 for which both children and their parents have to do preparations,” said Suhail, who spent good 15 days in Salalah, and returned to Muscat on Tuesday.
He admitted there were traffic jams in many parts of Muscat due to the arrival of vehicles from Salalah. “Since the deadline for school opening is nearing, most people have decided to come back, putting pressure on roads,” said Suhail.
Officially, the khareef season begins on June 21 and ends on September 21. The visitors had an excellent time this season due to continuous rains, greenery and natural springs that kept them engaged all through their stay.
“Most visitors coming back from Salalah choose to pass by Muscat to do school-related shopping or even a short stay before heading to their respective wilayats. This is also a reason for sudden pressure on Muscat roads,” said Bakhit al Sahri, who came from Salalah to attend his job-related workshop in Muscat.
Since he is staying in Mawaleh in Muscat and his workshop is in Madinat al Sultan Qaboos, he could witness a long queue of cars in certain pockets while coming to work and going back home.
Commenting on traffic on the Muscat-Salalah road route, Bakhit said, “Khareef makes road route very busy. People have to be careful while driving. They should be careful while travelling and take enough rest before driving because in most cases, accidents happen due to over speed.”
Visitors have two options on this route. One is through Nizwa and the desert, which is straight, and another is the coastal road crossing Sur and Duqm.
“It is up to the driver to decide the route, but careful driving is recommended on both the routes,” said Bakhit.
@patkaushal
