India’s West Bengal government has cut the Eid ul-Adha public holiday to a single day, scrapping a second day that the previous Mamata Banerjee government had announced at the start of 2026. The change comes after the state’s change in government earlier this year. A new notice issued Saturday said only one day of public holiday will be observed for Eid ul-Adha, on May 28.
Since taking office as chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari has rolled out several administrative reforms. Alongside a hard line on corruption, he has called for restoring a strong work culture in government offices. The new government is focused on cutting what it calls a culture of unnecessary holidays and absenteeism to ensure public services run efficiently and on schedule. Office hours for government staff have also been fixed. The cut to the Eid ul-Adha holiday is being framed as part of that administrative discipline.
State holiday calendars are typically issued at the start of the year. The list released under Banerjee had set aside May 26 and 27 as holidays for Eid ul-Adha. On Saturday, Additional Chief Secretary P.K. Mishra issued the new order, saying the single-day holiday was being introduced to align with the central government’s holiday calendar. The decision has prompted some government employees to ask whether the long Durga Puja holidays could also be trimmed in the future.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report