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Chennai, Oct 18 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has declared October 21 as a special holiday for all state government offices, public sector undertakings, schools and colleges across the state to facilitate smooth travel for citizens returning to their hometowns after celebrating Diwali.
Diwali is on October 20, and the government said the one-day holiday was declared “keeping in mind the welfare of students, teachers, government employees and public sector employees” who will be traveling from their native places during the festive period.
To compensate for this additional holiday, Saturday, October 25, has been declared a working day for all government institutions and educational establishments.
The step was taken following repeated appeals from teachers unions demanding leave on the next day of Diwali to ensure hassle-free travel for students and staff. The Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers Association (TNPSTA) had urged the government to consider the logistical difficulties faced by teachers and students traveling long distances to their native districts.
“For Diwali, teachers, students and education department officials will go to their hometowns over the weekend and return the next day. The transport network is expected to be extremely congested,” said TNPSTA state president C. Arasu. He said there is a long-standing precedent of granting holiday on the next day of major festivals to allow people to return easily.
“Keeping in mind the heavy travel rush, declaring October 21 as a holiday will help in reducing the crowd. This can be compensated by working on Saturday,” the association statement said.
According to government sources, the decision was taken after reviewing requests from various departments and education bodies as well as feedback from transport and district officials.
The special holiday is aimed at ensuring both safety and convenience for millions of people traveling across Tamil Nadu during the festive season.
With this announcement, schools and colleges will now observe a two-day Diwali holiday, and normal operations will resume on October 22.
–IANS
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