Staff Reporter

State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain on Wednesday said the new office timings for the government and autonomous offices is not permanent.

“This schedule will remain in force until further notice,” said the state minister at the Secretariat in a deal signing ceremony between Sunlife Insurance Company and Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF).

He said the day time is very long now. “We want to use the daylight.”
Farhad said this schedule will be readjusted later.

The new timings (8am-3pm), effective from Wednesday, meant the offices will start early by an hour. The officers and employees have welcomed this initiative spontaneously joining work as per the new schedule, he said.

Regarding the conflict between the timings of offices and schools, Farhad said private offices and financial institutions are operating from 9 am. “But the situation we have observed today is tolerable and the government’s decision is correct.”

In the new timings, the workflow at the offices will be increased, he said. There will be no pending work and no disruption in services, hoped the state minister.

BSRF general secretary Masudul Haque presided over the event along with the organisation’s president Tapan Biswas.

On Monday, the government rearranged the office timings from 8:00am to 3:00pm for all the government and autonomous offices and from 9:00am to 4:00pm for all banks in a bid to save electricity amid short supply.
Besides, there would be two weekly holidays in the educational institutions, Cabinet Secretariat Khandker Anwarul Islam said after a Cabinet meeting.

In the meeting, the Cabinet asked the power, energy and mineral resources ministry to ensure the uninterrupted electricity supply in the rural areas from midnight to dawn for the next 10-15 days so that the irrigation is not hampered.