There was also the sad note to this year's Eid celebrations in parts of the northern region of the country where some twenty lakh 'monga' affected people suffering from seasonal joblessness saw the sun rising and setting on the day like any other day.

Having said that, we turn to the tremendous bonding that is forged between rural and urban Bangladesh during the Eid holidays. After family reunions in their village homes, the employed work force is only expected to return to their places of work with their battery recharged and ready to move their engines of work-life.

So, after the Eid fiesta, they must get back to work rhythm thick and fast. However, with hardly a day after the Eid holidays, we have another closed day today. The extended holidays will have to be made up for, and that too as quickly as possible, since the political temperature is likely to rise following the SAARC Summit.

With the celebrations over, the other critical issue that the administration should direct its attention to, is the continued spate of spiraling of prices. The government needs to work towards stabilising the market prices shooting up during Ramadan, including the transportation fares that went haywire in the prelude to Eid vacation. We suggest that it may be worthwhile for the government to analyse as to what went wrong with the supply side of the market, so that we can at least try and avert repetition of the sorry state of affairs so sordidly experienced this year.