The interim government has extended the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays to five days, while Eid-ul-Azha holidays to six days and Sharadiya Durga Puja holidays to two days for 2025. The announcement of the public holiday came on Thursday (October 17).
The government announced the approval of 26 public holidays with a combination of national days, religious festivals and executive orders.
However, as nine of these occasions fall on Fridays and Saturdays, the total number of days off for workers in 2025 is only 17. There were 22 public holidays in 2024. Two of them fell on Friday and Saturday.
The list of holidays was approved at a meeting of the interim cabinet. The meeting of the Council of Advisers was held with chief adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus at his office in Dhaka.
The agenda of the meeting stated that the initial proposal had included 12 general holidays and 14 holidays by executive order, with nine of them falling on the weekend.
The 12 general holidays include national days and religious festivals from different traditions. Five of them fall on the weekend - three on Friday and two on Saturday.
The 14 days declared holidays by executive order include the Bangla New Year and other religious festivals. Four of them fall on the weekend – two on Friday and two on Saturday.
Employees of the Republic are also entitled to a maximum of three days of optional leave in a year on religious occasions.
Employees belonging to different ethnic minority groups in and outside the Chattogram Hill Tracts area have two days of optional leave on the occasion of the major festival of Baisabi or corresponding social occasion. One of these falls on a weekend. Earlier, the Ministry of Public Administration proposed to extend the holidays, which has now been approved by the Advisory Council.
The interim government, however, canceled eight national days including March 7, March 17 and August 16. March 17 in the birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, while death anniversary on August 16.
