48 holidays in 2022 for Govt. staff in Bengal
The Hindu
But many beneficiaries unhappy that 11 of them fall on a Sunday
West Bengal has announced a long list of holidays for State Government employees for 2022, a largesse that’s a repeat of the preceding two years when it had proved futile because people stayed home anyway due to the pandemic.
As per the State Government’s 2022 calendar unveiled last week, the total number of public holidays stood at 48. It’s a different matter that 11 of these days happen to be Sundays, something that beneficiaries are deeply unhappy about. But they still get to enjoy 37 holidays in a year, something that their counterparts in other States would probably wish for.
“The debt-ridden [State] Government is unable to hike our dearness allowance — the DA we earn is about 30% less than what Central Government employees earn — that’s why it is compensating us with holidays,” a civil servant told The Hindu, asking not to be named.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.