First month of new year starts with a total of almost 11 straight holidays for government servants.
The year couldn’t have begun at a better note for state government employees. Fresh from enjoying a dizzying spell of holidays - 29 of them in just three months in 2013 - government employees are already in the midst of another long spell of holidays, which began on Jan 5.
The three-day Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, which concluded in Madikeri on Thursday, came as a manna from heaven for government employees, who were able use it as a ruse to stay away from their duties for close to 11 days.
Here’s the mouth-watering prospect which many of us can only dream of.
The holiday bonanza began on Jan 5 which was a Sunday. Since the sammelana started on Jan 7, most of the government employees-cum-picnic enthusiasts left their respective homes on Jan 6 itself to take advantage of a provision in the Karnataka Civil Services Rules (KCSR) which states that if an event - training/ workshop or, as in this case, literary meet - is organised at a distance of more than 300 km, the day prior to the event and the day after the conclusion of the event will be considered as a journey day, for which employees can avail the On Official Duty (OOD) facility.
As Madikeri lacks good road connectivity with many parts of the state, most of the employees spend about 20 hours travelling. Reportedly, there was scramble for OOD forms at the sammelana.
The lit fest concluded on Thursday (Jan 9) and the government servants will use Jan 10 for journeying back to their respective places. Jan 11 is a second Saturday and Jan 12 is a Sunday, which leaves Jan 13 to be taken care of. If the employees can apply for casual leave on Jan 13, Jan 14 (Eid-Milad) and Jan 15 (Sankranthi) are government holidays, taking the total number of holidays to a staggering 11.
Sharanu Gogeri, honorary secretary, Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP), Gadag district, said the KSP usually held the literary meet during the weekends. But this year, the event was organised during the middle of the week owing to lack of accommodation in Madikeri.
“As owners of home-stays and lodges refused to rent out their services at weekends, it became imperative to organise it on working days,” said Gogeri.
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