Fridays and Saturdays will be the weekly holiday. Office hours will be from 9:00am to 5:00pm with a half an hour break from 1:00pm.

A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia took the decision last night on a set of proposals by the energy ministry in the wake of the latest petroleum price hike on Sunday.

The proposals were aimed at energy conservation and thus cutting down the government expenditure.

The decision will be applicable to government, semi-government, and autonomous and quasi-autonomous offices. Educational institutions, however, will remain outside the purview of the government decision.

There will be two days' weekly holiday also in banks and in that case, Bangladesh Bank will fix the office time, the meeting decided.

Awami League government had introduced two-day holiday in June 1997, but it was cancelled on November 5, 2001 after the four-party alliance had come to power.

Professionals on emergency services too will enjoy the two-day holiday, but they will have to work following a roster.

The cabinet meeting also discussed the energy ministry's proposals to close all shops except drug stores and restaurants after 8:00pm everyday, turn off all neon signs and billboards after 10:00pm and stop decoration of public places with lights.

Sources said the meeting decided in principle to implement the recommendations. But it asked for specific proposals to come from the ministries concerned.

The meeting, however, turned down the business community's demand for a two-day holiday on Saturday and Sunday, considering religious implications of cancelling the holiday on Friday.

In its proposal, the energy ministry said the high number of government motor vehicles contribute significantly to the high demand for petroleum.

A two-day weekly holiday will cut down a day's transport expense for the government staff, the proposal said.

The energy ministry also proposed that the government should convert all petroleum-based power plants into gas-run plants within the next five years.

Finally, the government institutions should be encouraged to use energy saving lights.

The cabinet at yesterday's meeting approved the draft of Bangladesh Pure Food (Amendment) Act 1959, which, if passed, will help the government take effective measures against adulteration of food. It also approved the draft of Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MCRA) Act, 2005.

FBCCI, BGMEA UNHAPPY
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) last night said the new decision on weekly holiday will hurt the country's international trade.

FBCCI President-elect Mir Nasir Hossain told UNB that it would have been better to announce the holiday on Saturdays and Sundays. He said the decision would force the businesses lose three days a week from the international working days.

BGMEA President Annisul Huq said the government decision would bring a "disaster" for country's export trade.

"We will not support the decision unless the government takes measures to keep open [on weekly holidays] emergency export services like customs, Export Promotion Bureau, banks and other related services," he told UNB.

"The services will have to be kept open at any cost," he added.