Bangladesh extends Durga Puja holiday to five days this year

This Durga Puja, the festive spirit in Bangladesh is set to stretch a little longer. The government has recently announced that the holidays have been extended from four days to five bringing about a much bigger festive joy as Maa comes home. 

Durga Puja festivities get longer in Bangladesh with five-day holiday

Bangladesh’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has recently announced an extension of a day in the holiday schedule of the government offices for Durga Puja. The country would now enjoy a long holiday of 5 days from October 20 to 24. The decision was made following a long-standing request from the people and it is set to be enforced this year which might not be a general rule for every year. 

The scheduled holidays fall on Navami (Tuesday) and Bijoya Dashami (Wednesday), with Thursday now added as a newly declared holiday. Since government offices in Bangladesh typically remain closed on Fridays and Saturdays as part of the weekly weekend, the additional day effectively creates a five-day break. 

However, under the same, emergency services such as hospitals, police, fire services, electricity, gas and water supply would continue to report to duty. 

Celebrations would be monitored for a smooth execution and better crowd control this year. As per reports, Home Minister Salahuddin remarked, “The responsibilities for ensuring security and smooth celebrations have been assigned across government agencies at the national, divisional, district and upazila levels," 

The celebrations of Durga Puja in Bangladesh are not very different from those in Bengal. The country lights up as communities welcome Maa Durga. The difference, however, lies largely in the scale. While Bengal, particularly Kolkata, has transformed the festival into a spectacular public celebration of art, pandals and crowds, Bangladesh remains more closely connected to barowari pujas and age-old traditions, some of which have gradually been overshadowed by the growing grandeur and spectacle of Puja in Bengal.

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