Proposal for extending Eid vacation at PMO

The public administration ministry has made a proposal to the prime minister to extend the Eid vacation to six days from three and to increase the number of public holidays on other religious occasions.

The ministry officials said the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, didn’t consent to the proposal as of last Sunday.

The proposal will be placed in the next cabinet meeting if the prime minister gives the go-ahead, they said. 

Eid-ul Azha, the second largest festival of the Muslim community after Eid-ul Fitr, will be held either on 2 September or 3 September, subject to sighting of the Zilhaj moon.

According to the public administration ministry officials, the ministry sent the proposal to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last July as per a proposal from the Innovation Unit at the PMO.

The Innovation Unit in its proposal showed several rationales for extending Eid vacations.

It said most of the service holders - both in the public and private offices - leave their workplace in different big cities to celebrate two Eids with their near and dear ones in their villages.

As the Eid vacations span only three days, it creates a huge pressure on transport sector during the Eids, leading to accidents and suffering of the people.

The Innovation Unit also argued that neither the government offices nor the private ones witness that much work for one or two days following the Eid vacation as the presence of both service holders and service seekers remain very thin during the period.

It said people suffering can be reduced to a large extent if the Eid vacations are extended.

When contacted, the principal secretary at the PMO, Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, said that no decision had been taken in this regard as yet.

Source: Prothom Alo