The government has announced a seven-day holiday from 25 May to 31 May on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, according to a decision taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on Thursday evening.
Offices will remain open on 23 and 24 May before the Eid holidays, the Cabinet Division said in a press release.
The meeting also approved the draft of the ‘National Public Toilet Guidelines 2026’, an initiative of the Local Government Division.
The guidelines aim to make hygienic and standard public toilet facilities easily accessible across the country, improve public health and cleanliness standards, and ensure user-friendly facilities for women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly and marginalised communities.
The guidelines also include provisions for ensuring effective management models and financing for the long-term sustainability of public toilet systems.
According to the cabinet decision, several ministries will take necessary actions to raise awareness among students regarding hygienic toilet usage practices. These include the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the Local Government Division, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The guidelines mandate that separate toilet construction for women must be included in development projects related to physical infrastructure.
Construction of safety tanks for waste storage of all toilets has been made mandatory, and under no circumstances shall toilet waste be dumped into rivers, canals, water bodies or other wetlands, causing water pollution.
The Local Government Division and the Road Transport and Highways Division will jointly take action to establish separate public toilets for women and men at appropriate locations on roads and highways.
The cabinet decision also stated that ministry and division-wise time-bound action plans must be prepared to implement the guidelines.
