Rashmi Ranjan

The Odisha government on Tuesday issued SOPs for the functioning of government offices in the State for this month.

According to a notification issued by the General Administration and Public Grievances Department, all departments of the State government and sub-ordinate offices in the State shall function with full strength of employees with effect from August, 2, 2021 until further orders. 

"It is reiterated that since most of the employees are now fully vaccinated they shall mandatorily attend office regularly. The employees who are unable to get vaccinated for medical or some other compelling reason(s), may seek exemption from attending office from the Head of Office, which would be considered on a case-to-case basis," the notification read.

"Employees who are neither vaccinated nor exempted would not be permitted to attend office and their absence will be treated as wilful," the notification said.

All the State government offices shall remain closed on 2nd and 4th Saturdays and shall function on other Saturdays of the month, the order stated.

All the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID infection shall be strictly adhered to by all concerned and in case of detection of infections, protocol issued shall be followed.

The order comes close on the heels of the recent unlock directive issued by the Special Relief Commissioner (SRP) which allowed several graded relaxations, including the opening of malls, theatres and restaurants in the State as the Covid graph continues to dip in almost all districts with the exception of three coastal districts of Cuttack, Khorda and Puri.

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