The government has set a new office timing for the upcoming Ramadan. The government has decided to reschedule the office hours during the month of Ramadan at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday (February 28). According to the new schedule, office hours will start at 9am and will end at 3:30pm. There will be a 15-minute prayer break for the devotees. Cabinet secretary, Mahbub Hossain said that considering the time of Sehri and Iftar of Ramadan month all government, semi-government, autonomous, and semi-autonomous institutions will follow the new timing set by the government to facilitate the fasting people.

The cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Monday) rescheduled all the government and autonomous offices hours from 8:00am to 3:00pm and banking hours from 9:00am to 4:00pm aiming to reduce electricity consumption and ease traffic. The decision came at the regular cabinet meeting as the premier joined it virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban in the capital. The Prime Minister's other cabinet colleagues and officials concerned were present at the conference room of the Cabinet Division in Bangladesh Secretariat. "The new office hours would be effective from Wednesday next," said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing newsmen after the meeting at the Secretariat. The educational institutions will have two 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 there (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 saving electricity and easing traffic congestion. Source: BSS AH

To prevent coronavirus transmission in the country the timing for banking transactions was fixed from 10 am to 2:30 pm. As the corona situation has improved a little, so the transaction period has been extended till 3 pm. The direction was issued by the central bank on Sunday. The new banking transaction timing across the country will be effective from tomorrow (Monday). As the government has extended the tenure of restrictions till June 6, so the timing (10 am to 3 pm) will be effective till then. All the banks will be open till 4:30 pm for its internal activities. The directions will be unchanged as per the DOS circular letter number 15 issued on April 13 by Bangladesh Bank. One branch of each bank will remain open on Thursday, Sunday and Tuesday at the upazila level. In the city corporation areas one branch of every certain bank within two kilometers area will remain open on every workdays. AH

Law Minister Anisul Huq said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inform when the election time government to be declared. Law Minister said this while responding to the newsmen after taking part at a program held at the Tejgaon district registrar office in the capital on Monday. When asked about the size of election time government he said, this is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. So she (PM) knows about the size of the election time government. It is her constitutional responsibility. The last session of this parliament will be held in October. Then when the parliament will be dissolved? In response to this question the minister said, first thing is that parliament will not be dissolved. This parliament will continue according to its tenure. According to the constitution the President has convened the parliament session on 9th September and that will be the last session of this parliament. In response to another question regarding RPO amendment Anisul Huq said, for vetting and legal suggestions about RPO amendment the file has reached in the legislative department in my ministry. It is yet to reach at me. Legislative department will see this and then they will send it to me. It is mentionable, Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed recently told newsmen that the eleventh national parliament election will be held in the last week of next December. But he did not mention any specific date. AH