Public and private offices resumed in the country on Thursday, though amid a relax environment, after six-days of vacation for Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of Muslims.
The first working day was spent mainly exchanging Eid greetings at the government offices, banks and other institutions.
However, different businesses and shopping malls are yet to open in full capacity as many of the holidaymakers are expected to enjoy vacation till next Saturday, insiders said.
Meanwhile, entertainment centres, amusement parks, and restaurants in the capital were seen packed with visitors staying in the city.
On the day, Dhaka streets were still free of traffic congestion though vehicular movement has increased a bit compared to the past few days due to office-goers and holiday returnees.
"Shopping malls and other general shops will resume by the middle of next week as it will take time to get customers right after the Eid vacation," said Md Helal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association.
He said recovering from last two years' losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, shops specially fashion houses and clothing stores saw relatively good business in this Eid season.
Dhaka city dwellers, still in festive mood, flocked to different areas with family and friends to better utilise last few days of the holiday before the city gets back to its usual appearance.
A huge rush of visitors was seen at the Bangladesh National Zoo in the city's Mirpur on the day- the third day of Eid.
Nearly 150,000 visitors thronged the zoo to see different types of animals, birds, and reptiles, said Md Waliur Rahman, information officer of the zoo.
Meanwhile, large crowds of visitors were seen in Hatirjheel, Uttara's Diabari and Purbachal expressway area as there are very few scopes to see open space in the city.
This year, the government employees got a six-day holiday at a stretch as April 29 and 30 were weekly holidays, May 01 was a public holiday for May Day and May 2, 3 and 4 were a public holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr.
Over 7.3 million SIM subscribers of different mobile operators left Dhaka for their respective ancestral homes in four days from April 27 to 30 to celebrate Eid.
The information was disclosed on May 01 by Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar through a Facebook post citing data provided by the telecom operators.
Besides, more people left Dhaka on May 1 and 2 before the Eid day.
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