No violations recorded on first day of Ramadan

The first day of Ramadan saw no violations of the regulations prohibiting public eating, drinking or smoking during the fasting period between sunrise and sunset, according to a senior military official. Anyone spotted breaking the regulations by publicly consuming any food or drink or smoking a cigarette, even alone in their cars, is subject to a fine of KD100 or one month's imprisonment. The police caught no violators consuming food in public places during the first day of the holy month of Ramadan," said Colonel Adel Al-Hashash, the director of the Ministry of Interior's (MoI) Public Relations and Moral Guidance Department. "The ministry always holds awareness campaigns before the holy month starts to make people aware of the prohibitions on eating, drinking and smoking in public during the day in order to avoid their being penalized. Speaking to the Kuwait Times, Colonel Al-Hashash continued, "If a violator is caught by the police, he'll be taken to the police station and a case will be registered. Then his case will be transferred to the court and the judge will decide on his penalty, which is usually a financial fine of up to KD100 or one month's imprisonment. On the traffic congestion problems that worsen duringthe Ramadan period, the senior MoI official pointed out that this happens every year. "The traffic concentrates on the Fahaheel Road and Fourth Ring Road. This situation has led the Ministry of Interior to take an exceptional decision to allow vehicles to use the hard shoulder to pass other vehicles," he explained, stressing that this exception will only be allowed during Ramadan and solely during the two busiest rush hour periods, as well as only if dr ivers stay under a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour. Col. Al-Hashash was positive about the lack of traffic violations recorded on the first day of the holy month: "We hope that this will remain the case throughout the whole month," he said. "The interior ministry also advises people to use shared or public transport in order to reduce traffic congestion, and people can also leave their homes earlier or later to avoid getting stuck in jams.