Banks and stock markets to stay shut for five days in a row during Durga Puja holiday, port branches to remain open
Photo: Collected
Normal operations of the country’s banks and financial institutions will remain suspended for five days in a row for Sharadiya Durga Puja. From tomorrow, Tuesday (19 October), trading on the country’s two stock markets, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), will also be halted alongside the banks. As a result, there will be a break in banking services and share trading during this period.
According to Bangladesh Bank’s instructions, 20 to 22 October are three days of government holiday for Durga Puja. After that, with 23 and 24 October falling on Friday and Saturday respectively as the weekly holiday, banking operations will remain closed for five days in a row. However, to keep banking operations running before the holiday, banks were kept open last Saturday (17 October). Banking activities were carried out that day as on an ordinary working day.
Although general banking operations will remain closed during the Durga Puja holiday, banking services will continue on a limited scale at bank branches and booths in the sea port, land port and airport areas in order to keep import and export activities running.
According to the instructions, the banks concerned will have to make arrangements to continue the necessary import and export related activities in the port and customs areas. For this, they have been asked to take the necessary steps in consultation with the local administration and the port and customs authorities.
As banking operations will remain closed, there will be no trading on the country’s two stock markets during the same period. The decision will remain in force because stock market trading is directly linked to banking operations.
Background
According to a BSS report of 16 October 2026, in response to the demand of the Hindu community the government extended the Durga Puja holiday to three days by executive order; together with the Friday and Saturday weekly holiday, this amounts to a total of five days’ holiday from 20 to 24 October.
The numbers
That BSS report, citing the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, said Durga Puja is being held at 33,851 mandaps across the country this year, about 1,500 more than last year.
According to the same report, on the Prime Minister’s instructions the government grant for the mandaps has been raised from Tk 4 crore to Tk 5 crore.
Source
Source: BSS, 16 October 2026
