15 public holidays to be cancelled by UP government

Lucknow: Yogi Adityanath’s government cancelled 15 public holidays on Tuesday that comprise of the birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities. These holidays were declared by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP).

According to a report by Indian Express, the state Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today decided to cancel 15 such public holidays in educational institutions.
“Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days,” Cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said while briefing media about their decision.

The UP chief Minister on the occasion of Dr BR Ambedkar’s 126th birth anniversary, expressed concern over the shrinking of the academic session due to the increased number of holidays.

“There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities. Instead, a special two-hour programme should be held to teach students about them. The 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays and if this tradition continues, there will be no day left for teaching in schools,” he said.
There are 42 public holidays In Uttar Pradesh, out of which at least 17 are the birth anniversaries of eminent personalities.

Samajwadi Party government had declared holidays on the birth anniversaries of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar (April 17), Maharishi Kashyap and Maharshi Nishadraj Jayanti (April 5), Hazrat Ajmeri Garib Nawaz Urs (April 26), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9) besides on the death anniversary of Ambedkar (December 6).

Public holidays that have been scrapped off by the UP government include Jan Nayak Karpori Thakur birth anniversary (Jan 24), Maharshi Kashyap and Maharaj Guha birth anniversary (Apr 5), Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Ajmeri Gareeb Nawaz Urs on (Apr 14), Chandrashekhar birth anniversary (Apr 17), Parashu Ram Jayanti (Apr 28), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9), Jamat Ul Vida on June 23 (last Friday of Ramzan), Chhat Puja (Oct 26), Eid Milad Un Nabi (Dec 2), Chaudhary Charan Singh Jayanti (Dec 23).