United News of Bangladesh

The Cabinet has approved in principle a proposal to relocate the Bangladesh Secretariat from Abdul Gani Road to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital, with the government targeting to begin office operations at the new site by 2029. The approval was given at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat on Sunday afternoon. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani disclosed the decision at a press briefing following the meeting. The new Secretariat will be established at the former site of the Dhaka International Trade Fair at  Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. Ghani said the government is moving ahead with the plan to ensure that offices could begin operating at the new location by 2029. The government earlier took a policy decision to relocate the Secretariat at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, said the cabinet secretary. According to the Cabinet Division, the existing Secretariat occupies 17.57 acres and has 13 buildings, eight of which were constructed before Bangladesh's independence. Four buildings were built between 1937 and 1939, while another was constructed in 1947. Since Dhaka city is located in an earthquake-prone area, it is risky to conduct the operations of key government ministries and departments in these facilities. It also mentioned inadequate office space for officials and employees, insufficient toilet facilities and overcrowding in the buildings as obstacles to maintaining a healthy and conducive working environment. The existing Secretariat has around 1.876 million square feet of office space. However, an additional 1 million square feet or more is needed to meet the demand for extra space from different ministries and accommodate ministries and divisions currently operating outside the Secretariat compound. Following a decision at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the Department of Architecture prepared a conceptual architectural design for the new Secretariat at the former trade fair grounds in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, in line with Louis I. Kahn's master plan for the area. Under the proposed design, 14 12-storey buildings with three basement levels will be constructed on around 31.58 acres of land, providing approximately 3.316 million square feet of space. The complex will have parking facilities for 3,800 vehicles, including 200 above-ground parking spaces, a mosque, two multipurpose halls with a capacity of 350 people each, a cafeteria and a post office. Around 30 percent of the project area will be allocated to greenery and water bodies.  

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be laid to rest beside her husband and late President Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital, following her namaz-e-janaza at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Wednesday afternoon (December 31, 2025). “We, the Standing Committee, have decided that her Janaza will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:00 pm at the field of the South Plaza of the Parliament House and across the entire area of Manik Mia Avenue,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee at the Chairperson’s Gulshan office on Tuesday, he also said the Khatib of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque will lead the Janaza. Read more: Preparations underway at Manik Mia Avenue for Khaleda Zia’s funeral Fakhrul said BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan will conduct the Janaza proceedings. Following the Janaza, he said, Khaleda Zia will be buried beside the grave of Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh’s proclaimer of independence, and introducer of multi-party democracy, popularly known as ‘Rakhal Raja’. Fakhrul urged all those intending to join the janaza to maintain strict discipline during the janaza and burial, requesting that no one disrupt the ceremony or move forward for photographs, and emphasised the importance of showing respect and preserving the solemnity of the occasion. He also called for prayers to the Almighty Allah for Khaleda Zia’s soul, seeking that she be granted a place in Jannah. The BNP leader also urged all to pray that Allah gives the Zia family, especially her eldest son and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, the strength to fulfill the responsibilities for the country and bear this grief. Read more: Condolences pour in for Khaleda Zia as nation mourns Fakhrul said the government has already declared three days of mourning, with tomorrow announced as a holiday. “You also know that the Prime Adviser has spoken to the nation, and we thank the government for their full cooperation.” Besides, he said, BNP has declared seven days of mourning. “During these seven days, we will wear black badges and raise black flags. Prayers and Quran recitations will be held at all party offices.” Earlier, the BNP Standing Committee held a meeting at the Chairperson’s Gulshan office, chaired by Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman. After being under medical treatment for over a month, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia passed away at Evercare Hospital at 6 am on Tuesday. Read more: Curtain falls on a political giant as Khaleda Zia passes into history

A day after returning home after nearly 17 years, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to visit the grave of his father and BNP founder late President Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Friday to pay his respects. Tarique left his Gulshan Avenue residence around 2:54pm in a bus decorated in red and green colours under tight security and headed for Ziaur Rahman’s grave. He used the same bus on Thursday while travelling from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the public reception venue, Evercare Hospital and his Gulshan residence. He will place a wreath at the grave along with senior BNP leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and members of the party’s Standing Committee. This will be the first time in almost 19 years that Tarique Rahman is paying tribute at his father’s grave. The last time he did so was on September 1, 2006, when he was serving as the party’s Senior Joint Secretary General, marking the BNP’s founding anniversary. Security tightened at Zia Udyan, Savar National Memorial ahead of Tarique’s visit Later in the day, Tarique is scheduled to visit the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar to pay tribute to the heroes of the Liberation War. On Saturday, Tarique Rahman will be formally registered as a voter. After completing the process, he will visit the grave of Osman Hadi near the Dhaka University Central Mosque. He will later go to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), popularly known as Pangu Hospital, to meet those injured in the July 2024 uprising Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on Thursday morning after spending nearly 17 years abroad. The aircraft carrying him, his wife Zubaida Rahman, and their daughter Zaima Rahman entered Bangladesh’s airspace earlier in the day. His return has drawn wide public attention and strong emotions among BNP leaders, activists, and supporters across the country. Tarique Rahman returns home amid rapturous reception Tarique was greeted by a rapturous reception from hundreds of thousands of jubilant supporters, marking his homecoming as a historic and triumphant event.

A three-day ‘Digital Bangladesh Fair’ is going to commence from January 26 with the aim to make people aware of the latest developments in digital technologies in Sher-E-Bangla Nagar in the capital. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the fair virtually. Posts and Telecommunications division in association with ISPAB is organising the fair at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre with the theme ‘Digital Bangladesh’s connectivity to highway’. Read more: ‘Digital Fair 2020’ to take place online The concerned division’s Secretary Abu Hena Morshed Zaman told UNB that the fair aims at putting up several issues including 5G, digital technologies, necessity of the digital connectivity and its usage.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested seven members of a teen gang along with drugs and sharp weapons from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area of the capital.

A mountaineer was killed after a micro-bus hit her bicycle on Sher-e-Bangla Nagar lake road on Friday morning.

The month-long 25th Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) 2020 is set to kick off at its usual venue at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on Wednesday.