Adivasi govt staff get 2 more days of leave from now on

Public servants from indigenous communities from now on can, if they want, take leave on the 29th of Chaitra and 2nd of Baishakh marking the New Year in Bangladesh, decided a cabinet meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Earlier, they could avail the opportunity for the 30th or last day of Chaitra, while the 1st of Baishakh (Pahela Baishakh) or April 14 (the first day of the Bangla calendar) is a public holiday.

While Bangalees celebrate Pahela Baishakh on April 14, the indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) start Boisabi celebrations two to three days beforehand, which continues for a week in some communities.

The decision, informed to journalists by cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan afterwards at Bangladesh Secretariat, would come into effect from 2nd Baishakh or April 15.

"We are grateful to the prime minister for taking the decision," Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura, secretary to the Ministry of CHT Affairs who placed the proposal, told The Daily Star.

"As there was no such facility, people of our community were deprived and not able to celebrate Boisabi," he added.

The cabinet also expressed satisfaction over a report on the government's activities. In 2015's first three months, 33 of 66 decisions were implemented while last year it was 19 out of 37.

The cabinet also approved the "Handicraft (Hasta O Karu Shilpo) Policy 2015."

With the premier rebuking cabinet members in the last meeting for wearing suits, none wore it yesterday.

Most opted for shirts with trousers or the traditional panjabi-pyjama while a few wore an extra sleeveless black coat, which Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman used to wear during his political campaigns.

There is a government order since 2009 to refrain from wearing suits from March to November when the temperature rises, to reduce use of air conditioners and save electricity.

PM greeted her cabinet colleagues marking Pahela Baishakh.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan and State Minister for Science and Technology Yafes Osman recited poems while State Minister for Social Welfare Promod Mankin distributed sweets of his locality, creating a joyous mood, a minister told The Daily Star.