'If everyone goes on holiday, who will do the work?'

He was raising a hand, stopping the traffic at the Bijoy Sarani intersection in the capital. With is other hand he was signalling to the vehicles on the other side to proceed. Traffic police, Constable Alamgir Hossain, was on duty during Eid. He said, "If everyone goes on holiday, who will do the work?"

At around 12:30 Thursday afternoon, Eid day, security guard Limon Banu was on duty at the ATM booth of a private and at Panthapath. He is from Birampur upazila of Dinajpur, but could not go home for Eid because of his duty. After offering prayers at the Eid congregation in the morning, he first called his father over mobile phone. He then spoke to his mother too. He took their blessings and assured his mother that he would go home once he got leave after Eid.

Limon said, "I have two sisters and I'm the only son. My sisters are married and live with their families quite far from our parents. I live far from them too because of my job in Dhaka. I didn't get leave this Eid so I couldn't go home. My mother asked me over mobile phone this morning what I had eaten, what I would eat in the afternoon.

Like Constable Alamgir and security guard Limon, many people engaged in emergency services including physicians, police, workers in the power-gas-water sector, journalists, transport workers, cleaners and others, are performing their duty on Eid. It may be sad remaining away from family, friends and close acquaintances during Eid, but they have their duty to carry out. They say that they are on duty to provide people with service. That is a way of enjoying the spirit of Eid.

A visit to Dhaka Medical College Hospital at 11:00am Thursday morning, saw physicians at the emergency department treating accident victims and other patients with various ailments. Physicians, nurses and medical staff were seen busy attending to the patients in the wards.

Altaf Hossain was on duty, in charge of the neurosurgery (male) ward 103 on the ground floor of Dhaka Medical College's main building. He said, "Who doesn't enjoy going on Eid holiday? But if everyone goes at the same time, who will look after the patients? The patients are lying in hospital beds during Eid. Our Eid is with them."

There are 53 patients in the neurosurgery ward. Five nurses are on duty to tend to them. One of them is Anjali Majumdar. She has been 10 years in the profession. Speaking to Prothom Alo, Anjali said, "I haven't been able to take off during Eid even once during my career. If necessary, I put in extra hours."

The patients and their relatives are despondent during Eid too. They are here because of some accident or ailment, alarmed and worried.

Rashed Ali of Lakshmipur injured his head when hit by a bus two days before Eid and is now at Dhaka Medical College. He is in a critical condition. The physicians recommended that he be admitted to ICU, but his family could not afford take him to any ICU of any private hospital.

Rashed's cousin Aminul Islam said that on the day of the accident, Rashed had been walking home from work at around 12:00 in the night. A bus suddenly hit him from behind and drove off. They are now spending Eid is hospital, running around tending to Rashed.

Resident surgeon of Dhaka Medical College Hospital Mohammad Alauddin, speaking to Prothom Alo, said, "We who are on during Eid also feel like being with our near ones. But there can be no joy if we just leave these people who are injured or ailing here in hospital. Serving people is our Eid joy. This work makes us happy."

Meanwhile, while the print edition of newspapers is closed, television, online news portals and such media is running. So a section of journalists are on during collecting and disseminating news. The city cleaners too are working through the Eid holidays.