Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has declared Thursday, 22 October, an additional public holiday for Sharadiya Durga Puja, giving government employees five consecutive days off. The decision was made public on Tuesday, 29 September.
Under the revised schedule, Tuesday, 20 October (Navami) will be a holiday, followed by the general holiday for Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday, 21 October. With the newly added day on 22 October and the regular Friday and Saturday weekend on 23 and 24 October, the break will run for five days in a row. Banks and financial institutions normally remain closed on government holidays, although emergency services continue to operate.
The Prime Minister also approved larger allocations for religious festivals than had been sought. The Hindu Religious Welfare Trust will receive Tk 5 crore for Durga Puja against a request of Tk 4 crore, while the Buddhist Religious Welfare Trust will get Tk 3 crore for Probarana Purnima and the Kathin Chibar Dan ceremony against a request of Tk 2 crore.
Bijon Kanti Sarkar, the Prime Minister's special assistant on minority affairs, said the Prime Minister had added one day to the official holiday, which in practice gives everyone five days off.
According to the Home Minister, the longer break responds to a long-standing demand from the Hindu community.
Photo: Pratyya Ghosh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources: en.prothomalo.com
