Government offices reopened in Bangladesh on Thursday after an extended Eid-ul-Fitr vacation. This year, government officials enjoyed holidays from April 29 to May 4, with April 29 and April 30 being a weekend and May 1 a public holiday. Bus stations, launch terminals and railway stations were teeming with people returning to their workplaces this morning. However, the attendance of officials at the Secretariat in Dhaka was poor. Banks and financial institutions also resumed operations on Thursday. This year, Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest festivals of the Muslims, was celebrated on May 3. Thousands of people had left Dhaka to celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones in their native places. Read: Bangladesh celebrates Eid as pandemic fades

With less than two weeks left for Eid-ul-Fitr, rundown and faulty launches are being refurbished and repaired to sail on river routes across the country during the huge rush of holidaymakers, endangering hundreds of lives. At least 30 defective launches are getting a quick facelift with cosmetic repairs at various dockyards in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the city aiming to make a fast buck by carrying passengers of 22 southern districts during the Eid festival. Experts said the condition of most of the rivers before the Eid may become risky with the possibility of nor’westers, strong current and gusty winds due to the influence of new moon as the passenger launch accidents in the country’s inland waterways happen at this time mainly for overloading of passengers, faulty vessels, risky competition, mismanagement and lack of trained, skilled and competent crews. They said the government must take strict measures to check the operation of unfit and faulty vessels and overloading and ensure adequate fire safety and lifesaving equipment in each launch to avoid any untoward incident during the mad rush of passengers at launch terminals ahead of the Eid. Also read: Launch owners’ profit motive makes Eid journeys fraught with risk Meanwhile, National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR) in a report on Tuesday last said the Sadarghat terminal will witness an unusual pressure as 40 lakh people from three districts--Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj--are likely to travel to the coastal districts by launches during this Eid occasion. It also said there are not enough vessels to carry so many one-way passengers in just 12 days, cautioning that the launches can carry passengers beyond their capacity on decks and roofs during the season of natural disasters like nor'westers and storms.