Govt declares additional holiday on March 18 to ease Eid travel
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The government has declared an additional public holiday on March 18 to facilitate smooth travel for people returning to their hometowns during Eid al-Fitr. As a result, government employees will enjoy a seven-day holiday from March 17 to March 23.
The decision to declare March 18 (Wednesday) a holiday ahead of Eid was taken at the Cabinet meeting held on Thursday (March 5). The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat, as per local media reports.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj confirmed the decision to journalists after the meeting.
Depending on the sighting of the moon, the country’s largest religious festival for Muslims, Eid al-Fitr, is expected to be celebrated on March 20 or March 21.
The government has set the Eid holidays assuming a 30-day month of Ramadan. If the fasting month completes 30 days, Eid will be celebrated on March 21.
According to the previously announced holiday calendar, March 21 will be a general holiday for Eid. In addition, March 19–20 and March 22–23 were already designated as holidays by executive order, ensuring a five-day break for government officials from March 19 to March 23.
However, March 17 is already a public holiday for Shab-e-Qadr, while March 18 initially remained a working day between the holidays. To avoid disruption and allow uninterrupted travel during the Eid rush, the government decided to declare March 18 a holiday as well, creating a continuous seven-day break from March 17 to March 23.
Last year, extended Eid holidays helped make the holiday travel period largely smooth. Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam had earlier indicated that the government was considering extending the holidays to ensure hassle-free Eid travel.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity on Wednesday (March 4) demanded an additional holiday on March 18 to allow staggered travel to villages and reduce congestion in public transport during the Eid rush.