Jamshedpur: Potka MLA Sanjeev Sardar staged a symbolic protest against government employees arriving late for duty at the Potka block-cum-circle office in East Singhbhum district on Tuesday. Angered by the repeated delays, the MLA welcomed some late-arriving male officials and employees with garlands in a sarcastic gesture to highlight their lack of punctuality. Instead of entering the office, he placed a chair at the main entrance and waited for staff to arrive, reprimanding those who failed to report for duty on time.\n\nSanjeev Sardar reached the Potka block headquarters at around 10.10 am on Tuesday but found most officials and employees absent. At around 10.25 am, Circle Officer Nikita Bala arrived and invited him to sit inside the office. However, the MLA declined the invitation and remained seated at the main entrance, monitoring the arrival of employees until around 11.30 am.
Among those who arrived late were Block Supply Officer Manisha Kumari, Labour Officer Dheeraj Kumar, MGNREGA Block Programme Officer Gurucharan Mahato, clerks Abdul Rahman and Kartik Das, and a lady supervisor, along with several other employees. Sardar presented garlands to some male officials and staff members as a mark of sarcastic protest rather than appreciation. Through the gesture, he sought to underline the importance of punctuality in government service and accountability towards the public.
Explaining the reason for his surprise inspection, the MLA said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was under way in Potka. More than 20,000 voters in the constituency had been included in the voter discrepancy list, and many residents from rural areas were visiting the block headquarters to get errors in their documents corrected. He said he had been receiving repeated complaints that the process was moving slowly, causing inconvenience to residents.
Sardar pointed out that people travel from remote villages to government offices after setting aside their daily work. If officials and employees are unavailable during working hours, residents are forced to wait unnecessarily, he said. He added that he had complained to senior officials about those arriving late and directed that show-cause notices be issued to the employees concerned.
The MLA warned government officials and staff to improve their working practices and give priority to public-related work. He made it clear that negligence and habitual delays in government offices would not be tolerated. He also warned that disciplinary action would be taken against the employees concerned if there was no improvement in the system.
