The government is set to declare October 22 as a holiday by executive order, allowing a five-day holiday on the occasion of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community.
Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Ethnic Affairs Bijon Kanti Sarkar shared the information on Tuesday.
Five-day Durga Puja will begin on October 17.
According to Bijon, October 20 (Tuesday) will be a holiday by executive order on the occasion of Maha Nabami, while October 21 (Wednesday) will be a general holiday for Bijoya Dashami.
October 22 (Thursday) will also be a holiday by executive order, followed by the weekly holidays on Friday and Saturday, he said.
Thus, there will be five consecutive days of holidays across the country.
Sources said a proposal in this regard will be placed before the Cabinet meeting for approval.
The special assistant also said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has increased the special allocation from the Prime Minister’s Fund for Durga Puja by Tk 1 crore this year.
“The special allocation for puja mandaps across the country used to be Tk 4 crore from the Prime Minister’s Fund. This year, the Prime Minister has increased the allocation by another Tk 1 crore,” he said.
The Prime Minister has also increased the allocation from the Religious Welfare Trust for the Buddhist community on the occasion of holy Prabarana Purnima and Kathin Chibor Dan festival by another Tk 1 crore.
Last year, Tk 2 crore was allocated for the festivals, while Tk 3 crore will be provided this year, he said.
The celebrations of Prabarana Purnima and Kathin Chibor Dan will begin in the second week of October and continue until mid-November.
