The Eid holiday for government officials in Bangladesh is set to begin after office hours on March 16. The move aims to ease travel pressure before Eid al-Fitr.
According to the official holiday calendar, general holidays have already been declared from March 19 to March 23 for Eid al-Fitr. March 17 is also a public holiday for Shab-e-Qadr.
A source at the Ministry of Public Administration said a proposal has been placed to declare March 18 a holiday by executive order. If approved, government offices will close after work on March 16. The source added that the proposal is expected to be cleared at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
If the decision is finalised, government employees will get a continuous break from March 17 to March 23. Officials say the extended holiday will help reduce travel congestion as many people leave Dhaka for their home districts before Eid.
The Cabinet is expected to take a final decision at its meeting on Thursday.