Staff Correspondent

The Secretariat – the nerve centre of Bangladesh’s administration – has reopened on Sunday, the first working day since a massive fire broke out at the compound early on Thursday.

However, several new restrictions have been made on the entry of officials and others in response to the fire. Officials below the level of additional secretary have to park their vehicles outside and enter after showing their identity cards.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has opened a separate booth for emergency visitors while media personnel are trying to perform their daily duties while outside the gates to the Secretariat.

Mahbubur Rahman, a policeman on duty at Gate No. 5, said that only Secretariat officials and employees with smart cards are allowed to enter the gate, with no other visitors or journalists allowed through.

Gate No. 4, next to the Bidyut Bhaban is also closed.

Visitors to the Secretariat who came by car usually entered through Gate No. 3. But on Sunday, officials left their cars at the gate and entered on foot.

Moinul, the police officer in charge identified by a single name, said that no vehicles aside from those used by advisors, secretaries, and those officials designated to investigate the fire are being allowed inside. They can, however, leave their vehicles, show their passes, and enter on foot.

The cars left by the officials have created intense traffic congestion around the Secretariat.

A joint secretary-level official at the Ministry of Finance drive from Uttara to work in their car. They are facing difficulties because they cannot park inside as they usually do.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they were trying to find parking near the Rail Bhaban or some other building.

As the Ministry of Land has a deadline for submissions for a tender, a booth has been set up outside today so competitors can submit their documents.

Raman Das, office assistant at the ministry, said they are accepting tenders outside for today, but the work is usually done inside the Secretariat.

Journalists assigned to their regular duties at the Secretariat are facing some difficulty too. They have been waiting since the morning to enter.

Fasih Uddin Mahtab, the president of the Secretariat reporters' organisation BSRF, said: "We are contacting the authorities so that professional and regular journalists can enter and gather news. We hope they will inform us of their decision soon."

At least 19 Fire Service units rushed to the Secretariat after receiving a report of a fire in Building No. 7 of the Secretariat around 1:52am on Thursday. Although the blaze was brought under control around 8:05am, the fire was not entirely extinguished until 12:45pm.

The fire, which had been burning for nearly 10 hours, has damaged four floors of Building No. 7 of the Secretariat -- floors 6, 7, 8, and 9.

These floors housed the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, among other departments.

Among the hardest-hit areas were the 8th and 9th floors, where most documents were reportedly destroyed.

The fire brought much of the Secretariat’s operations to a standstill on Thursday. The power supply to several buildings was cut off throughout the day, and employees were unable to access their offices.

In response to the incident, the government has formed a high-level committee to investigate the cause of the fire and assess its impact.