Dhaka, Oct 12 (bdnews24.com)—Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has asked for an assessment on locating a part of the secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar as one of the measures to ease traffic congestion in the capital, her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said on Monday.

Monday's cabinet meeting gave schools and businesses new daytime schedules in a major government move to control traffic chaos on the streets of the capital. Government offices will however continue with their current 9am-5pm schedule.

"In today's cabinet meeting, the prime minister also asked for assessment to begin for shifting the major secretariat offices to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar," said Azad.

UGC chairman Professor Nazrul Islam, whose field of study is urban planning, greeted the initiative with mixed reaction.

He told bdnews24.com, "It's been under consideration for a long time. Shifting of some offices to Sher-e-Bangla is feasible, though not an ideal solution.

"It will ease pressure on the city centre and decrease traffic gridlock in some areas."

"But, traffic may build up instead in Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Sangsad Bhaban area and Mirpur Road, already congested areas."

"At present, it is possible to enter the secretariat from every side, while access to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar is not so favourable because of restrictions around Dhaka Cantonment," he said.

"Urban planning for the capital is complicated because of the restricted cantonment area right in the middle of the city. There might be some good if it were relocated."

Akbar Ali Khan, chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission and a former finance secretary, told bdnews24.com, "Traffic jams in the city are heightened because of the secretariat, which should be gradually shifted."

Shifting the secretariat to Sher-e-bangla Nagar has been under consideration since 1972, he said. "There is more space than in the current location."

The secretariat was established in 1947—after the British left—where Eden College, earlier the Eden Girls School, once stood, he said. Eden College was shifted to Bakshibazar.

"The school and college were situated where the home ministry and the cabinet division are now."

The nine-storey and 13-storey buildings were constructed in the Pakistan period, while the towering 19-storey and other buildings were build after independence.

Khan said, "Right now, the foreign, defence and industries ministries, along with several other departments, are not located in the main secretariat due to lack of space. But all the ministries and offices could be accommodated together at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

"It is also beneficial as the parliament would be close," he added.

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