Officials unhappy as Eid holiday falls on weekend

A three-day public holiday on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr at the weekend has this time disappointed many of the people who leave the capital for Eid celebrations with families.
Although Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest festival of the Muslims, is likely to fall on either Friday or Saturday depending on the sighting of the moon, the government has decided not to extend the holiday, beginning Friday, which will force most of the homebound people to leave the capital on the evening of Thursday, the last day in office before Eid.
The government on Tuesday announced a three-day Eid holiday would begin on Friday as the meteorological department had assured the ministry that there was no chance of sighting the moon on Thursday, Ramadan 29, according to an official order of the establishment ministry.
‘I will not be able to go to my village home in Satkhira this time as I will need to attend office on Thursday. It takes about 14–15 hours to reach my village at Eid time. So it is very tough to celebrate the festival with my family on such a short holiday,’ a government employee said.
The establishment ministry has recently rejected the home ministry’s proposal for an increase by two days the duration of the Eid holiday on the grounds that the number of public holidays would increase further and a similar situation might arise again, officials said.
A number of officials and employees of the Bangladesh Secretariat, in talking with New Age, expressed their disappointment over the government’s rigidity about not extending the holiday that falls the weekend.
They said they were unhappy because Friday and Saturday had ‘robbed’ two days from the three-day Eid holiday. Some of them, who have their family living in remove areas, said they would not be able to leave Dhaka on such a short holiday as they need 12–14 hours to reach their home.
Attendance in government and semi-government offices, however, is likely to be thin on Thursday, the last working day before Eid, as some officials have taken a day’s casual leave to avoid traffic hazard during their journey home.
‘As two-thirds of Eid holiday are at the weekend, Friday and Saturday, many officials and employees from districts far away will not able to leave Dhaka to celebrate the festival with their family,’ an official said.
He said the government should have extended the holiday by two more days in such as situation.
Newspaper offices will, however, remain closed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the occasion of Eid. But if Eid falls on Saturday, the vacation will automatically be extended by another day.

Courtesy of NewAge