'Lazy' govt officials fail to follow new timings

Various senior officials failed to reach their respective offices at 8am, the scheduled morning timing that has been fixed by the state government from Wednesday. Following the prevailing power crises in the state, the working of government offices, which was 9am to 5pm, was changed to 8am to 2pm from August 1. Besides, a ban was imposed on the use of air conditioners in the government offices.

Various senior officials failed to reach their respective offices at 8am, the scheduled morning timing that has been fixed by the state government from Wednesday.

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Following the prevailing power crises in the state, the working of government offices, which was 9am to 5pm, was changed to 8am to 2pm from August 1. Besides, a ban was imposed on the use of air conditioners in the government offices.

However, a large number of government offices flouted the orders, as the air conditioners were found operational in various offices. Even the deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari, known for his punctuality, was not in his office till 8.30am. Municipal commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma also reached his office at 8.16am.

Similarly, police commissioner Ishwar Singh also reached his office after 9 am. Not to miss the other officials, including the district transport officer, district development and panchayat officer (DDPO), assistant town planner, election tehsildar and deputy director local bodies, as none of them did not reach their offices on time.

Having read the news of the changed timings, people had reached these offices before 8am, but they had to wait for the officials. Rajwinder Singh, a resident of a nearby village said, "I had to meet the DTO for an urgent work as there was some problem pertaining to the registration of my new car, but could not do so."

Irked over the "nonchalance" of the officials, a city-based NRI, who had come for some work at the tehsildar office, stated, "If officials come late by an hour and leave by 2pm, the working hours will be limited to five hours, which will affect the public dealing. They should set an example for the subordinates by being punctual," added the NRI.

It is learnt that air conditioners too were used in various offices against the ban orders of the state government. A senior BSNL employee requesting anonymity stated that more than 10 air conditioners were operational in different branch offices of BSNL in Ludhiana.
Interestingly, various offices in the courts complex, including the courts of some judges, too used the air conditioners.