Dhaka was in a holiday mode on Monday, the first working day, after three days of Eid-ul-Fitr vacation.
The bustling capital's roads looked almost deserted on the day.
This year's Eid vacation clashed with two weekly holidays -- Friday and Saturday.
Many city dwellers, who sent their families to their village homes to celebrate the festival, have not returned yet.
Visiting Bangladesh secretariat, the administrative hub of the country, this correspondent found the government employees to be in casual mood, exchanging greetings with each other.
The presence of the employees at the secretariat was thin.
A significant number of the employees have not joined offices yet as they took couple of days' leave along with the Eid holidays.
Most of the commercial banks witnessed insignificant transactions.
"It might take the whole week for normal operations," an official of Rupali Bank's Rajarbagh branch told the FE.
Most of the private offices, especially readymade garment (RMG) units, did not resume their activities on the day as their employees still are enjoying holidays.
The regular buzz on most of the city streets was absence.
Low traffic was witnessed on the unusually busy city streets.
The movement of public and private vehicles was significantly low in busy intersections such as Purana Paltan, Motijheel, Farmgate, Mohakhali, Shahbagh and Mirpur-10.
Most of shopping malls kept their shutters down while the majority of corner stores were closed.
Fewer pedestrians were seen walking on the sidewalks.
The usually crammed buses could offer seats for every passenger.
The private service holders, school and college students and garment workers are expected to join their offices, education institutions and factories after some days.
Visiting bus and launch terminals and Kamalapur railway station, the FE correspondent found a few people were returning from their respective ancestral places.
Besides, some people were seen leaving the capital.
The situation, however, was quite opposite in different amusement sites and locations in the city, including Dhaka Zoo, Shishu Park, Hatirjheel and Crescent Lake as people of different strata thronged those places for enjoyment.
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