The long holiday previously announced for government employees during Eid-ul-Fitr has now been extended further.
The government had initially declared a five-day holiday for Eid, but an additional day has now been announced through an executive order, reports Prothom Alo.
In a meeting of the Advisory Council on Thursday, it was decided to declare April 3 as a holiday. As a result, government employees will now enjoy a continuous nine-day holiday from March 28 to April 5.
Sources from the Advisory Council meeting confirmed the decision to declare April 3 as a holiday.
Based on the sighting of the moon, Eid-ul-Fitr is likely to be on March 31.
Taking this estimated date into account, the Ministry of Public Administration had initially set a five-day holiday schedule. According to official records, the Eid holiday was set to begin on March 29.
However, since March 28 falls on a Friday, which is a weekend in Bangladesh, and is also the holiday for Shab-e-Qadr, the actual holiday period effectively begins on March 28.
According to the previous announcement, offices were scheduled to reopen on Thursday, April 3.
However, since April 4 and 5 are also weekly holidays (Friday and Saturday), the addition of April 3 as a holiday through an executive order means that government employees will now enjoy a continuous break from March 28 to April 5.
Additionally, just two days before this extended break, March 26 is a public holiday for Independence and National Day.
Offices will be open for a single day on March 27 before the extended holiday period begins.
Currently, there are around 1.5 million government employees in Bangladesh.
According to the leave regulations, casual leave is not allowed between two holidays, as that would create an extended break. However, employees can take earned leave, and there is also an option for optional leave.
Every employee must obtain prior approval at the beginning of the year for three days of optional leave according to their respective religious beliefs.
Optional leave can be combined with public holidays, executive order holidays, and weekends.
The Ministry of Public Administration stated that offices with their own specific schedules and leave policies (such as Bangladesh Bank) or offices providing essential services will determine their holiday schedules based on public interest and their own regulations.
There are over 200,000 employees in both government and private banks across the country.
According to sources from Bangladesh Bank, every year, some branches of government and private banks remain open under special arrangements before Eid.
However, Bangladesh Bank has not yet made any decisions regarding this matter for this year.
