The usually busy city roads wore a deserted look on Sunday due to thin traffic and small number of pedestrians on the footpaths. Even, the heart of the government, the Secretariat, is yet to get momentum, as most of the civil servants still could not return to their working place overcoming holiday hangover.
Although, several government and semi government offices, private banks and important organizations re-opened with the end of three-day long Eid vacation, the overall working atmosphere was still missing due to absence of many officials and employees.
However, the city dwellers who went to their countryside homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their kith and kin have started to return by buses, trains and launches from Saturday in view of the two-day hartal called by the Jamaat-e-Islami.
The religion based political party has called for observance of the 48 hours shutdown from the morning of August 13 in protest against the cancellation of the party's registration by the High Court recently.
All the bus terminals, railway stations and the launch ghats are crowded with the returnee passengers. Many of them however said that they could not enjoy the holidays peacefully due to hartal call just after Eid.
Thousands of people were seen coming back to the Sadar Ghat Launch Terminal, the Kamalapur Railway Station, the Gabtoli Bus Terminal, the Sayedabad Bus Terminal and the Fulbaria BRTC Bus Terminal at noon.
Abu Bakar Madbar with his wife and two children returned from Shariatpur with delightful state of mind. "I have been able to return safely after celebrating the Eid with my relatives,' he said.
Mohammad Jafar from Barisal, told The New Nation that he had returned to Dhaka on Saturday to save his job, keeping his wife and three children at his village home, adding that the bus employees charged twice of the actual fare from him. The launch and the bus owners are used to exploit the passion of passengers every year to make quick money during the two Eid holidays. The launch ghat lessees also practice the same thing.
However, most of the shopping malls, business centers, schools, colleges and universities did not re-open. It may take a few more days to resume activities.