Kolkata, May 8 The West Bengal government on Thursday issued an order cancelling all leaves of the state government employees, except medical leaves, for an indefinite period amid the situation following Operation Sindoor, in which Indian armed forces attacked several terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
"In view of the prevailing situation and in the interest of maintenance of public services, it is hereby ordered that all leave sanctioned to the employees of the Government of West Bengal, except leave on medical grounds, stand cancelled with immediate effect. No official shall leave their headquarters without the written permission of their respective Heads of the Departments. This order is being issued in the public interest and shall remain effective until further orders," read the order issued by Additional Chief Secretary, P.K. Mishra.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has issued a separate order, similarly cancelling all leaves of all employees of the corporation till further orders. The employees of all departments related to disaster management had been advised to be on alert, especially during the night hours.
The officials and staff of these departments have also been advised to keep all items related to disaster management and relief ready in advance. An increase in surveillance at the vital installations related to public services, especially the water tanks, has been ordered.
Senior officials have been asked to keep their mobiles switched on for seven days and 24 hours.
At the same time, the control room of KMC will remain open on a 24/7 basis, and the officials will have to be present there on a rotational basis, round-the-clock.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has cautioned the traders of food items against any practice that might lead to artificial jacking up of food prices in the retail markets.
“If anyone thinks that only Kashmir will be affected by the current crisis, in reality, it might not be so. We might also face problems. So we will also have to be careful. No one should take advantage of the current situation and resort to practices like hoarding and black-marketing. The state government will keep a close vigil in the matter," she said.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor