Jharkhand declared Friday and Saturday as holidays for Holi that is being celebrated on March 18 and 19 in many parts of the country, the state government’s announcement welcomed by all in view of the promise of a long weekend.

As per an official notification issued by the state personnel and administration and raj bhasha department on Thursday, “Earlier, March 18 (Friday) was declared as Holi leave but in view of the extended festival, the government has decided to declare holiday on March 19 (Saturday) too.”

“After a long time, we have three consecutive days of holidays. Earlier, due to Covid-19, we couldn’t even spend Holi or plan outings. But with situation normalising now, people have the liberty to enjoy at ease,” remarked an official at the state food and civil supplies department.

In Dhanbad, traders were, however, upset and claimed that the delay in announcing two-days of holidays by Jharkhand had impacted their business adversely. Bankers were upset too as staffers had no idea that the holiday would be extended by a day.

Talking to The Telegraph Online on Thursday, Rajesh Kumar Gupta, a patron of Federation of Dhanbad Zila Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FDZCCI), said, “The Bihar government had declared holiday on March 19. But the delay in declaring holiday on March 19 here affected business. Now, all markets and business establishments are likely to remain closed on both March 18 and 19.”

He said the Jharkhand government should have declared March 19 a holiday along with Bihar. “Had it done so, the confusion might not have affected business,” he said.

Prabhat Chaudhary, district convener of United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), said, “Although March 18 was declared holiday, bank employees in the state were in a fix. They realised that even if banks remained open on March 19, there would be few customers. But now that a holiday has been declared on Friday, too, it will be convenient for employees.”

Security has been beefed up across the state for Holi.

The state government has appealed to all to celebrate Holi with caution and ensure that religious sentiments were not hurt since the festival coincides with Shab-e-Barat on Friday.

The district administration has started deploying police and magistrates at strategic locations in Ranchi to maintain law and order. Around 2,000 police personnel are being put on festival duty.

“Besides uniformed cops, security personnel will also be posted at key locations in civil dress. All police stations have been put on alert and orders have been given to ensure proper patrolling. A special vigil will be mounted on social media too,” said Ranchi SSP S.K. Jha.