Holiday hangover persists in city

Government offices, banks and different business organisations resumed activities on Tuesday after the vacation of Eid-ul-Azha, the second- biggest religious festival of the Muslims, ended.
Though the offices, both in the government and private sectors, resumed on the day, work environment there was quite languorous due to less attendance than normal.
However, shopping malls and private organisations will mostly start opening next week as business activities are yet to fully commence.
This year, government officials enjoyed Eid-ul-Azha holiday from July 08 to July 11, with July 8 being a Friday.
At the Secretariat in Dhaka, presence of officials was quite low as many of them will enjoy Eid vacation till July 14.
Besides, eateries, recreation spots and parks in the capital were packed with city dwellers enjoying their holiday.
Restaurants and food courts, especially in the city's Bailey Road, Khilgaon, Satmasjid Road in Dhanmondi, Purbachal Expressway, Gulshan, Banani, and Uttara were seen stuffed with mostly young people.
Tasnia Sharmin, a university student, came to Satmasjid Road in Dhanmondi with her five friends where hundreds of restaurants, coffee shops, juice bars, etc are situated.
"Many of our friends went to village homes to celebrate Eid while some of us who are living in Dhaka decided to have a get-together before university starts," she told the FE.
Many people thronged Ramna Park, Suhrawardi Udyan, Hatirjheel, Diabari in Uttara, National Zoo, and Botanical Garden in the city in search of fresh air.
At the National Zoo in the city's Mirpur, a large number of people were seen waiting in long queues to enter the zoo which got some new animals recently.
According to the zoo authorities, they collected animals like African lion, llama, kangaroo, wildebeest, and pelican in last one month though only the two African lions are on display while others are still in quarantine.
Aminul Haque, a bakery worker who came to the zoo from the city's Badda with his wife and two children, said, "My two boys had been telling us to take them to the zoo for long, so finally we are here."
This year, over 6.5 million mobile phone users left Dhaka in two days (July 08 and July 09) before the Eid day to celebrate the festival at native homes.
The information was revealed by Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar in a Facebook post.
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