Mumbai, Jun 22 (IANS): A day after a major fire gutted the state secretariat here, hundreds of employees who reported to work Friday were not allowed inside the premises owing to safety concerns even as ministers and some officials have started work from alternative offices.

"Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had said Thursday evening that the Mantralaya would continue working Friday. While most of us reported to work on time, the security officials did not allow us in, citing safety concerns," an employee said.

State ministers and some top officials started work either from their homes or their offices in the Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat, Vidhan Bhavan, and the new administrative building barely a stone's throw away from the Mantralaya.

However, hundreds of government employees who gathered at the Mantralaya gate, were still in the dark about about alternative arrangements made for them.

"We should have at least been informed about this. We are also trying to find out if we can resume work Monday," a woman staffer said.

Thousands of people from across the state visit Mantralaya daily to get their work done.

A major fire broke out in Room no. 411 on the fourth floor of the secretariat Thursday afternoon. It quickly engulfed the three top floors of the building located in the heart of Mumbai's central business district.

The blaze has claimed at least three lives so far.