Eleven days after the fire, the damaged Building 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat has been reopened.
Officials and employees have resumed work on the remaining five floors of the nine-story building, except for the four floors that were burned down.
Since the fire, only cars belonging to advisers and secretaries have been allowed to enter the Secretariat.
Starting Sunday, cars of other officials and employees are also being allowed entry.
Access to the nine-story building is permitted up to the fifth floor.
Authorities have said that it will take 10 to 12 days to repair the damaged part of the building.
The Secretariat has returned to normal operations 11 days after the fire.
There are a few policemen stationed at the entrance to the stairs on the fifth floor, and they are not allowing anyone to go beyond that point.
The police have said that only individuals with permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs can enter.
Since the fire, law enforcement agencies have not allowed anyone into Building 7 except for important individuals and officers involved in the investigation. However, by Sunday, it was observed that everyone could enter the building.
Beyond the fifth floor, no one is allowed to enter except officials from the Public Works Department.
On the fifth floor, the Ministry of Labor and Employment occupies the east side, while the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications occupies the west side.
The Financial Institutions Department is located on the fourth floor, the Internal Resources Department on the third floor, and the Local Government Department on the second floor.
There is still a burning smell on the second floor of Building 7, and there are black ash stains on the floor.
The elevator is out of service.
Cleaning is ongoing up to the fifth floor. However, while electricity is available, the water supply to the building has been cut off.
The four floors, from the sixth to the ninth, have been completely destroyed by the fire.
The collapsible gates of these floors are locked, and the stairs have completely collapsed.
At around 11:30am, Md Hamidur Rahman Khan, an Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, visited Building 7.
He told reporters: "It will take 10 to 12 days to complete the renovation work on the four damaged floors. Our engineers have said that they can complete the renovation within this time frame. We will try to finish the work as quickly as possible."
He added: "The water supply to Building 7 has not been restored yet, but we hope to resolve this by today (Sunday)."
The fire occurred due to an electrical "loose connection."
When asked about this, the secretary said: "This is a separate issue and not the subject of discussion here."
When asked whether any action would be taken against those responsible for the loose connection, he said: "The investigation committee will handle that."
