The government may extend the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holiday by one day to ease travel before the festival. A decision is expected at the cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 5.
Officials from the Ministry of Public Administration said a proposal has been placed to declare March 18 a public holiday through an executive order. If approved, government offices will close after work on March 16.
According to the current government holiday calendar, general holidays are already set from March 19 to March 23 for Eid-ul-Fitr. March 17 is also a holiday for Shab-e-Qadr.
If March 18 is declared a holiday, government employees will receive seven consecutive days off from March 17 to March 23. In that case, March 16 will be the last working day before the Eid break.
Offices are scheduled to reopen on March 24 and March 25. The following day, March 26, is a national holiday for Independence Day in Bangladesh.
March 27 and March 28 fall on the regular weekly holidays of Friday and Saturday. Officials say the cabinet meeting will decide whether the additional holiday will be approved.