The holy Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the greatest religious festivals of Muslims, will be celebrated in the country on Thursday (April 11) as the moon of Shawwal month of 1445 Hijri was not sighted in the sky of Bangladesh on Tuesday.

 "The moon of Shawwal month of 1445 Hijri was not sighted today in the sky of the country. So, the holy Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Thursday," said a press release of Islamic Foundation (IF)  Tuesday evening.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Moon Sighting Committee at the office of IF at Baitul Mokarram National Mosque with Religious Affairs Minister Md. Faridul Haque Khan, MP, in the chair.

The Eid holidays start today, but many people left the capital city last week to celebrate the occasion in their hometowns and villages.

After the end of the three-day holiday, people will get another day off on the weekend on Saturday. Sunday, Bangla New Year’s Day Pahela Baishakh, is also a public holiday.

However, dozens of villages in Chandpur always observe Eid in keeping with Saudi Arabia, where the occasion will start on Wednesday.

In Dhaka, the main Eid congregation on Thursday will be held at the National Eidgah ground at 8:30 am. The authorities have prepared the field for 35,000 devotees.

The congregation will move to the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at 9 am in case of bad weather.

Following tradition, the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque will hold five prayer congregations at 7am, 8am, 9 am, 10 am and 10:45 am.