Two days weekend

The argument by some persons that the international price hike of oil has compelled our government to introduce two days of weekend with a view to cutting and controlling the use of fuel in government and private transports is not valid.

As a matter of fact, more and more people, especially the government servants, will use transports and fuel to go to their hometowns and villages and also to go to distant places on pleasure trips, picnic and holidaying during the two days of weekend. Thus three working days will be lost.

We fail to understand what wisdom prompted the government to go for the two-day weekend.

There is no instruction, rule or regulation in Islam that offices should remain closed on Friday and Saturday. Furthermore, there is no instruction, rule or regulation that Muslims should not work on Friday.

O H Kabir Dhaka

Champions in corruption for the last three years, politicisation of the administration, deterioration of law and order, successive series of blasts, and, above all, the worst inflation have put the country in a difficult situation. Now the government has declared two days weekend, which makes no sense. The outside world, however, has holiday on Sundays, we have on Fridays and Saturdays that means our transactions with them will remain suspended for three days, which will be a great disadvantage for us.

Md Kabir Hossain Basabo, Dhaka

We are now fed up with traffic jams in almost all the streets of Dhaka City. People are not only late in reaching their destinations but face physical torture in the jam due to the hot weather. Since we are unable to widen the roads or reduce the number of growing vehicles, we must find out some other solution to reduce this problem, if not eliminate it totally. I would like to make the following suggestions:

1. All govt offices should function from 0900-1600 hours.

2. All corporate and private offices should function from 1100-1800 hours.

3. Schools & other educational institutions should operate from 0800-0200.

4. There should be two days of weekend for government /business people on Saturday & Sunday and another two days for students on Thursday & Friday.

5. All shopping centres and shops except restaurants and pharmacies should be closed at eight in the evening.

Some of the advantages of the above proposals would be:

1. The city will get rid of serious traffic jams.

2. Electricity load will be equally distributed.

3. Housewives will not feel lonely because during four days of the week, they will get company of their near & dear ones.

4. Due to Saturday/Sunday weekend, international business will not be affected.

5. The govt. expenses on utility services as well as transport will be greatly reduced.

Mohammed Alauddin Green Road, Dhaka

A two-day weekend was a long felt demand. It has now been fulfilled but in a wrong way. The decision of having Friday-Saturday weekend has ignored the business community and international relations and trade. We have international relations and trade with many countries of the world where Saturday-Sunday is observed as weekend. Consequent upon the recent decision of Friday-Saturday weekend our trade relations and diplomatic contact with other countries will definitely suffer. Our trading partners will suffer and will remain out of contact for three days. Only for Friday we are going to suffer for three days in this global market system. The Jumma prayer and lunch shouldn't take more than an hour. So what is the point of losing a whole day?