Govt reschedules office hours from 8am to 3pm from Wednesday

The decision came at the regular cabinet meeting as the premier presided over it virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban here. The prime minister’s other cabinet colleagues and officials concerned were present at the conference room of the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat. “The new office hours would be effective from next Wednesday,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing newsmen after the meeting at the Secretariat.

The educational institutions from now on will have two -day weekly holidays as well, he said, adding that the education ministry will now issue a circular in this regard. In the meeting, the cabinet also 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. The Cabinet directed the government offices to remove curtains from their (offices) to get natural lights as well as to use air conditioners as little as possible to cut electricity consumption, said Anwarul Islam.

In the meeting, Bangladesh Bank Governor also declared the new office hours for the banks, he added. The cabinet secretary hoped that the decisions (new office hours and two-day weekly holiday in educational institutions) would help save electricity and ease traffic congestion.