Eid holiday hangover in Secretariat

Offices across Bangladesh have opened after a three-day holiday for the Eid-ul-Fitr, but very few turned up for work at the Secretariat, the hub of administration.

On Wednesday, the first working day after the vacation, those who came to office were seen exchanging Eid greetings and taking it easy.

This Eid vacation started from Sunday. But with the previous weekend added to the three-day holidays, most of the government employees had left Dhaka with their families for ancestral homes last Thursday after office.

Many of them returned to Dhaka and resumed work, but some have taken leave for Wednesday and Thursday. Adding these days to the coming weekend, they are set to enjoy an extended vacation.

That would mean that the Secretariat is not returning to its normal environment until next Sunday, a high official of the public administration ministry said.

Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader came to office in the morning and started off his day with Eid greetings with the officials. He also spoke to journalists later.

State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid Bipu also started the first working day in a similar manner. Afterwards, he talked to the reporters about the stoppage of gas supply to the CNG refuelling stations across the country.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq was also seen in Bipu's office at the time.

"Mr Mayor is not here to only exchange Eid greetings with me, he's also here to talk about important issues," the state minister said with a smile.

Apart from them, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, LGRD Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain and State Minister for Rural Development and Co-operatives Md Mashiur Rahman Ranga also greeted their ministry officials after coming to office on Wednesday.

Senior officials said several other ministers and state ministers were scheduled to come in the afternoon.

Officials estimated that attendance on the first business day was less than 70 percent.

The Secretariat's visitors' lounge, which generally appears full of people in the morning on any usual working day, was nearly empty on Wednesday.