DHAKA: Much of the cheer of the holidaymakers got dampened into regret, as five-day Eid vacation plea of the Home Ministry didn’t get the Prime Minister’s nod.

Traditionally, people enjoy a three-day holiday on the occasion of Eid, but it is too short a span of time for them to celebrate the festival with kith and kin, claimed homeward travelers.

The three-day holiday mainly starts before the day of Eid, but first and last days are wasted on the way.

Meanwhile, the mismanagement of vehicles and traffic congestion spark severe pain for home-sick travelers amid the short leave, alleged some of the sufferers.

Even most passengers spend off their festive moods on the way during Eid day due to severe traffic jams, insufficient stock of ticket and black marketing for its high-rated sale.

Besides, the passengers who go home via Dhaka have to face intolerable misery due to impassable city traffic congestion, said one of the travelers.

Expressing a bitter reaction, a Sylhet-bound passenger, Sadan Chowdhury, an official of a multinational company in Bogra office, said he was worried about North Bengal highway traffic tailbacks.

“The pre-Eid duration is too short to go to Sylhet crossing over the huge traffic mess on the way," he said.

A BCS administration official said he would take leave for September 7-8 and start for Dinajpur on 6 September after completing his duty.

It takes three hours to come to Dhaka from Chandpur and 7/8 hours to Dinajpur from the capital, which is really a long tortuous journey for traffic jam, he added.

“The sharing of Eid happiness with parents is unavoidable in spite of the sufferings," he said.

The homebound people’s sufferings increase every year, and among them, private job-holders suffer more than the government service-holders.

Because, those in government service get extra Eid-vacation privilege beyond the three-day government holiday.

So, the Home Ministry recently sent a five-day holiday proposal to mitigate the public sufferings, but it went in vain failing to get PM’s consent at the eleventh hour.

But, when the news spread, the sweet dream of long-awaited Eid vacation faded out.


BDST: 1500 HRS, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010