Govt staff can look to 13-day Puja break next year

KOLKATA: If you thought the 11-day Puja vacation at government offices was a bit too long, think about next year when the weekend following Lakshmi Puja will give the employees a 13-day bonanza. And should the CM decide to grant a leave on Panchami like this year, the holiday will stretch for 16 days, as another weekend will be added.

For now, the 2017 Puja holidays wo uld begin on Sashthi, September 26 (Tuesday), and end on October 8 (Sunday), an official at Nabanna said. While Dussehra is on September 30, October 1 is Muharram and October 2 Gandhi birth anniversary . With government offices usually shut till the day after Lakshmi Puja--October 5 (Thursday) is Lakshmi Puja and October 6 (Friday) is the day after--government employees will enjoy anot her weekend before office finally resumes on October 9 (Monday).

The first holiday for government employees in 2017 is expected to be on Vivekananda's birth anniversary on January 12, followed by Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary on January 23. Then there is Republic Day, January 26 (Thursday), followed by a weekend and Saraswati Puja on February 1 (Wednesday). State employees can plan a short trip by clubbing any two holidays with a leave or two to plug the gaps.

While they will enjoy a long weekend for Holi on March 13 (Monday), they lose a holiday as Good Friday and Ambedkar Jayanti will coincide and also for Poila Baishakh, as April 14 is a Saturday .

But they can again plan a few more long weekends, as May 1 falls on a Monday and Eid-ul-Fitr on June 26, also a Monday .

If they can take a casual leave, they can again "plug the weekend gap" for August 15, which is on Tuesday and for Diwali, which is on October 19, a Thursday . As the year draws to an end, government employees can again plan short trips on long weekends on December 1, (Milad-un Nabi on Friday) and Christmas, a Monday .

Latest Comment

give them leave for ever...anyways they don't work in office either.

Gautam Ray