Tamil Nadu government declares holiday on October 21 to facilitate travel after Diwali

Chennai, October 18 (IANS). The Tamil Nadu government has declared a special holiday on October 21 for all government offices, public sector undertakings, schools and colleges across the state to facilitate smooth travel of citizens returning from their hometowns after celebrating Diwali. Diwali is on October 20 and the government said the one-day holiday has been declared keeping in mind the welfare of students, teachers, civil servants and public sector employees who will travel from their native places during the festival. To compensate for this additional holiday, Saturday, October 25, was declared a working day for all government institutions and educational institutions. The move was taken after repeated appeals by teachers’ unions for vacation on the next day of Diwali to ensure hassle-free travel of students and staff. The Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers’ Association (TNPSTA) has urged the government to consider the problems faced by teachers and students when they travel long distances to their own districts. TNPSTA state president C. Arasu said, “For Diwali, teachers, students and officials of the education department will go to their hometowns over the weekend and return the next day. The transport network is expected to be extremely busy.” He further said that it is a long tradition to give leave on the next day of major festivals for people to return to their comfort. “In light of the rush, declaring October 21 as a holiday will help reduce the crowd. This can be compensated by working on Saturday,” the association’s statement said. According to government sources, the decision was taken after reviewing requests from various departments and education bodies, as well as feedback received from transport and district officials. The purpose of this special holiday is to ensure the safety and comfort of millions of people traveling in Tamil Nadu during the festive season. With this announcement, schools and colleges will now celebrate two days of Diwali vacation and normal work will start from October 22. –IANS AKS/DSC