Office timings changed, but footfall after 9 am

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Jalandhar, May 2

Even as the office timings of all Punjab Government departments on Tuesday started from 7:30 am to 2 pm, the actual public dealing began past 9 am as there were hardly any visitors in the first one and a half hours.

Confusion at Sewa Kendras

• As the new office timings came into effect on Tuesday, some people visited the Sewa Kendras early only to find them shut.
• At the main Sewa Kendra of the District Administrative Complex in Jalandhar, people had to wait till 9 am when the staff started turning up
• As per the state government orders, all Sewa Kendras will work as usual from 9 am to 5 pm, while all state government offices would operate from 7.30 am to 2 pm. The new timings will remain in effect from May 2 to July 15

Even as the attendance in the offices remained normal and all employees made sure that they reached in time, but all waiting rooms and benches meant for the seating of visitors remained vacant till 9:30 am.

“It seems that the public will take time to get habitual to the new office timings. For the first nearly two hours, we had absolutely no work in hand. We could only clear the pending files. The footfall had remained high between 11 am to 1 pm and it was time for us to leave by 2 pm”, said an employee from the SDM’s office in Jalandhar.

Interestingly, some people believed that even the timings of the Sewa Kendras had changed alongwith the government office timings. Few people assembled outside the main Sewa Kendra of the district administrative complex with that impression in mind but had to wait till 9 am when the staff started turning up.

The attendance in the government offices of Kapurthala too remained normal and everyone, including Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal, reached their offices before 7:30 am.

Punjab DC Offices Ministerial Staff Association State General Secretary Satbir Singh said all the employees working in DC office reached by 7:30 am but the general public started coming to office after 10 am. “Hence, most of the employees remained idle till that time,” he said.

The employees said since the temperature was still normal due to good climate, they would not have in any case switched on the air-conditioners and worked only under the fans.

The employees who came from far-off places and the women staff rued that they faced some difficulties. Some employees said they carried breakfast from home and took it after reaching the office.