BSS, Dhaka :
As a good number of residents left the capital city for their hometowns or rural homes while many in the city are relaxing in their flats or roaming around their own neighbourhoods, the city is yet to wake up from the longer than usual recess for twin festivals- Durga Puja and Eid-ul Azha.
A day after Eid-ul Azha, people commuted at a slow pace through roads, which remain congested on regular working days. The high humidity coupled with smelly surrounding also forced many to choose rather indoor activities, adding more quietness to the usually bustling city life.
Like Eid-ul Fitr, businesses in the capital city of Dhaka is unlikely to get back its usual stream until next week as most of the people who left Dhaka before Eid will be enjoying an extended holiday this year.
The three-day holiday for Eid-ul Azha ended Tuesday, leaving only two days between the official holiday and the weekends and alluring many people take leave on Wednesday and Thursday to extend their holiday to next week.
The Dhaka city, which usually is bustling on weekdays, looked deserted as a large number of people had not started returning from the village homes. The government, semi-government, autonomous and private offices including banks and financial institutions, reopened Wednesday, but attendances of both the staff and the visitors and clients were slim.
The stock market, however, will reopen on Sunday. Banks were open, but transactions were very slim with thin presence of clients. The people who attended their offices on Wednesday were seen busy exchanging Eid greetings by embracing each other and spending time in chatting with fellow colleagues.
Unlike a usual working day, only a few numbers of public buses, cabs, private vehicles and rickshaws were plying on the major and other roads in the capital city, offering people a rare comfort of moving faster than usual on the city roads. Though some small shops in kitchen markets and the supper-shops opened doors on Wednesday, they saw few numbers of customers.
At the downtown, some stalls and street vendors were selling garments and household items. 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 street vendors kept their footpath shops open when few customers were seen trying their luck for a steal.
The scenario in the city’s recreational centres, however, was different with families; friends and individuals were on an outing fiesta at parks and open spaces. The little traffic on the main thoroughfares helped people commute to these places without facing the hazards of the chronic traffic congestion they used to face and would be facing again shortly.
Most of the restaurants in the city remained closed, but the fast-food eateries served a good number of customers.
