Punjab: Asked to be available 24 hours a day during paddy and festival season

Punjab: Office bearers and activists of various organisations working for the rights of the common man, including farmers, labourers and students, have urged the higher authorities to motivate senior officers of government departments to respond to SOS calls coming to them during and after duty. The activists alleged that many government officials switch off their mobile phones after duty and during holidays, to avoid calls from public leaders and their seniors as well. Local residents, mainly farmers, led by All India Kisan Sabha leader Baldev Latala, alleged that officers posted on special duty during the procurement period and festival season have stopped responding to phone calls of public leaders, for reasons known only to them. “Just yesterday I tried to contact a procurement agency official on his phone for hours, but could not get through,” Latala said.

He said many of the ‘actions’ being taken by the protesting organisations can only be avoided by holding talks for reconciliation. Taking cognizance of the alleged irresponsible attitude of staying off the network, some government departments have issued formal orders to their employees to ensure that their phones are not switched off during holidays or after working hours. A paragraph of the circular issued by the Finance Commissioner Secretariat on Friday reads, “The department has observed that some officers/employees switch off their phones after duty hours or on holidays and do not call back on receiving the ‘missed call’ notification. This leads to problems in dealing with officers working on holidays and after duty hours.” Punjab Revenue Officers Association president Sukhcharan Singh Channi acknowledged the trend and said the association has already advised its members to ensure that they respond to every call coming on their phones during office hours or after duty hours. They (revenue officers) have also been advised to forbid their employees also from switching off their phones or ignoring calls coming from the public. Channi said, “Realising that the upcoming period is most crucial for the administration due to paddy procurement period, festival season and the period prone to maximum number of accidental fires, we have called upon our members to remain prepared to deal with any emergency.”