The activities of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications are currently being conducted at the GPO building near Zero Point. Due to fire damage to its Secretariat office, the ministry has temporarily relocated to the Postal Building. However, Advisor Md. Nahid Islam conducted office work at the Information Ministry in the Secretariat on Monday.
According to the ministry’s public relations officer, both the advisor and the secretary are temporarily working from the Secretariat’s Information Ministry. Meanwhile, Mohammad Mokhlesur Rahman, the private secretary to the Secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, confirmed that their operations have been relocated to the office of the Mailing Operator and Courier Service Licensing Authority at the General Post Office (GPO).
Sources report that the devastating fire at the Secretariat severely damaged equipment, documents, and furniture of six ministries housed in Building No. 7. As a result, these ministries have set up temporary offices in various locations to continue operations. For instance, the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry is conducting its activities from the Rail Bhaban on Abdul Gani Road.
Similarly, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has relocated to the National Sports Council near the old Paltan Baitul Mukarram gate, while the Ministry of Labour and Employment is operating from the Shram Bhaban in Bijoynagar. The Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance has moved to Building No. 11, where the economic advisor’s office is located.
The fire broke out at the Secretariat on Wednesday (December 25) at 1:50 AM, prompting the Fire Service unit stationed there to initiate efforts to contain it at 1:54 AM. As the intensity of the fire increased, a total of 19 units arrived at the scene, with 8 units initially responding and 11 more joining later.
The fire caused extensive damage to documents and equipment on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th floors of Building No. 7, which housed the ministries of Youth and Sports; Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology; Posts and Telecommunications Division; Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives; Local Government Division; Rural Development and Cooperatives Division; Labour and Employment; Finance; Finance Division; Financial Institutions Division; Internal Resources Division; Road Transport and Bridges; and Road Transport and Highways Division.
