Bhubaneswar: All government offices across the state will continue to remain closed Saturdays in January in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, as per a notification issued by General Administration and Public Grievances department, Wednesday.
Offices in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will function with 75 per cent strength of employees (all staffers including Group A officers) during January. The departments/head of offices in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have been given power to decide the manner of selection of employees who will attend office.
However, essential offices and services such as Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) and Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) offices, police, fire services, health services, municipal services among others will function in full strength.
All government offices and employees have been instructed to strictly follow all precautionary measures issued by the department, it said. In case of detection of any Covid case among the office employees, the office concerned will follow the protocol issued earlier.
The officers/staffers, who have been provided with VPN will continue to work from home, when not assigned roster duty. They must be available to attend to any office work of urgent nature, at short notice and be available on telephone at all times, read the order.
Meanwhile, the government has put restrictions on congregation and celebration of New Year’s Day in government offices. The employees have been asked to use virtual means for conveying New Year greetings to colleagues and seniors.