People lining up for transactions at the Sonali Bank at Motijheel in the city on Sunday, the first working day after Eid-ul-Azha holidays — Focus Bangla Offices reopened in the capital on Sunday after a five-daylong vacation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and weekly holidays.
The three-day Eid holiday started on Tuesday last. It was followed by two weekly holidays (Friday and Saturday).
After that, the government, semi-government and private sector offices, including banks and financial institutions (FIs), opened on Sunday.
The officials and employees in different offices were seen exchanging Eid greetings with their colleagues by embracing one another amid a festive mood on the day.
Attendance of the staff members was rather low at Bangladesh Secretariat on the day, as most of them were yet to return to the city from their villages and hometowns across the country, an official said.
He also said many service-holders took additional two or three days' casual leave apart from the scheduled holiday, causing the thin presence.
Some senior officials joined their offices at the secretariat, and were busy in exchanging Eid greetings with their colleagues. The same scenario was noticed at other offices and FIs.
Besides, a large number of private offices in the capital also experienced low attendance on the day.
Shafiqul Islam Belal, a senior official of a private bank, told the FE that only fifteen out of thirty-five staff members were present at their Gulistan branch on the day.
Meanwhile, the holiday-makers, who went to their village homes across the country to celebrate the Eid festival with relatives, have started returning to their respective workstations.
Subsequently, rush of passengers has been seen in the Dhaka-bound inter-district transports, trains and launches since Sunday noon.
The roads across the capital are still empty with lower traffic movement compared to that of the usual days.
The city will take another couple of days to get back its usual hustle and bustle and tailback.
Most of the shopping malls in the city remained closed on Sunday. The kitchen markets also witnessed a thin presence of traders and customers. Most of manufacturing units will resume their operations from tomorrow (Tuesday), said insiders.
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