The Chief Adviser's Press Wing said that a decision has been taken to ban access to journalists due to security reasons in the wake of the fire incident in the Secretariat.

This information was informed in a press release from the Office of the Chief Adviser on Saturday (December 28) morning.

According to the notification, keeping in mind the security of the Key Point Installation (KPI), which was damaged by a terrible fire this week, it has been decided to ban the entry of journalists into the Secretariat.

It also said that the government will soon review the existing press accreditation cards and fresh applications will be taken from all local and international news outlets for issuance of new accreditation cards.

Meanwhile, temporary daily access cards for any event will be issued by respective ministries. The notification also said that the government regrets the inconvenience and seeks the cooperation of journalists.

Earlier on Friday, the government canceled all types of temporary (for private individuals) entry passes to the secretariat except the permanent entry passes issued in favor of the officials and employees working in the secretariat and the temporary entry passes issued for the government officials and employees.

Interim government's Finance and Planning Adviser Dr. Saleh Uddin Ahmed said that the interim government wants to create a sense of responsibility for the next government through exemplary work.

He said this during an exchange of views with senior officials of government institutions of Chattagram Division at the Circuit House in Chattagram around 5 pm on Friday (December 27).

Dr. Saleh Uddin said, we want to take some steps that the next government will be forced to follow. Our goal is that there will be no cloudier situation in Bangladesh. The country's development will spread like sunlight for everyone.

Regarding corruption and political uncertainty, he said that if there were no corruption and political uncertainty, Bangladesh would have risen higher in the global economy. For this, a mindset of accountability must be maintained in project implementation. Opportunities for corruption cannot be created by showing additional expenses.

He also said that all government departments should give priority to the information technology sector. Although political compromise is difficult, compromise on extortion is easy. However, we have brought extortion under control to keep market prices bearable.

Dr. Saleh Uddin mentioned the implementation of simple policies for the common people and said that taxes on daily commodities have been reduced to almost zero to keep business and trade and the lives of the common people normal. Self-discipline of citizens is also important.

The government has issued a new order canceling all temporary passes to enter the Secretariat, except for government officials and employees. In addition, access to the Secretariat through accreditation cards issued to journalists has also been suspended until further orders.

This order was announced in a notification signed by Khoda Bakhs Chowdhury, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, on Friday (December 27).

The notification said that for the information of all concerned, it is being informed that in the interest of increasing the overall security of the Bangladesh Secretariat, all types of temporary (for private individuals) Secretariat entry passes, except for permanent access passes (Digital Access Control System) issued in favor of officials and employees working in the Secretariat and temporary access passes issued for government officials and employees, have been cancelled.

Access to the Secretariat through accreditation cards issued in favor of journalists is hereby cancelled until further orders.

Holders of different categories of cancelled Secretariat entry passes can apply for new temporary entry passes within the next 15 days through the special cell established at Bangladesh Police, Crime Command and Control Center, DMP, 15 Abdul Gani Road, Dhaka.

This order was issued in view of the security situation at the Secretariat that arose due to the fire incident.

The Hajj quota given to Bangladesh has not been fulfilled again. The number of pilgrims is fewer than last time. With this, Bangladesh has failed to fulfill the quota of 127,198 people received from Saudi Arabia for three consecutive years though the cost of Hajj was reduced significantly this time.

The initial registration period for Hajj 2025 ended on Thursday (December 26). However, the latest information says that 83,587 people have completed the initial registration for the next Hajj, against 127,198 people, which is 1,670 less than the final registration last time. This number may decrease further in the final registration.

According to the Hajj portal, out of the 83,587 people who have completed the initial registration for this year's Hajj, 4,980 have chosen the government channel. The remaining 78,547 want to go to Hajj through private channels. The government has asked those who have completed the initial registration to complete the final registration by January 15.

On Friday (December 27), Deputy Secretary of the Hajj Department, Mamun Al Farooq, told the media that the pre-Hajj, initial registration period for 2025 is no longer being extended. We will soon have to send the quota (list of registrants) to the Saudi government.

This time, the price of the government-managed package has been reduced by reducing the airfare by about 27 thousand taka. However, the food cost has not been included in the Hajj package. Officially, the minimum cost of Package-1 has been set at 4 lakh 78 thousand 242 taka. And those who take the general package-2 will have to pay the minimum cost of 5 lakh 75 thousand 680 taka. Along with this, another 40 thousand taka for food and 750 Saudi riyals for the sacrifice will also have to be counted. Accordingly, the cost of the Hajj package has not changed much from before.

Meanwhile, several private Hajj agency owners told Barta24.com that about 10 percent of Hajj pilgrims could not complete their registration process till Thursday as all banks were closed on December 25 for the Christmas holiday and many pilgrims did not receive their passports on time. At this time, they demanded that the Hajj registration period be extended by a few more days if possible. It is to be noted that the holy Hajj may be held on June 5, subject to the sighting of the moon.