Dhaka yet to get back usual look

Dhaka is yet to be in its normal state as most of the Eid holidaymakers who had left for home to celebrate the biggest festival of the Muslims did not return until Friday.
The capital city remained in a holiday mood Friday even though government, semi-government offices, banks and financial institutions and some major business houses reopened Thursday after the three-day Eid vacation.
A small number of people started returning to the city after celebrating Eid with near and dear ones at their village homes. But many will take the advantage of this weekend. The city is likely to get its usual look after some more days.
During visits to bus, railway and river terminals most of the transports coming to the capital from different parts of the country were seen half-empty.
"Almost all of our buses come to the city with a half of the seats empty," Harunur Rashid, senior manager of Hanif Paribahan, said.
The prices of tickets were also lower than those of pre-Eid period. The stock market, however, will reopen Sunday. The major shopping malls, business centres, schools, colleges and universities have not yet re-opened and may take a few more days to resume normal activities.
Only a few public buses, cabs, private vehicles and rickshaws were running in the capital city, offering people a rare opportunity of moving faster than usual.
The thin traffic on the main thoroughfares helped people commute without facing the hazard of chronic congestion they used to face and would be facing again shortly. Most of the restaurants in the city remained closed Friday, but the fast food outlets like KFC, Pizza Hut, BFC and CFC witnessed a massive rush of customers.
Only a few street vendors kept their footpath shops open.
Meanwhile, the city's recreation centres including Shishu Park, Mirpur Zoo, Shishu Mela, Dhanmondi Lake, Suhrawardy Udyan, Chandrima Udyan and South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad were buzzing with people of different age groups.
Long queues were seen in front of National Museum, Shishu Park, Mirpur Zoo and many other such recreation spots.