Assam govt employees with second jabs return to work; Plea to vaccinate all at workplace

GUWAHATI: Government employees, who have received both the doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, resumed work on Monday following a directive from the state general administration department. However, many employees in the state secretariat and other important offices have been attending office all this while with or without the first dose making them vulnerable to the virus infection.
Employee associations said many employees continued to attend office without both the jabs on the instructions of their seniors, though the new directive has given a new lease of life to government offices.TOI talked to several employees in the secretariat and found they were attending office with one or two day gaps.
Monalisa Baishya, a senior administrative assistant at the state secretariat, has been attending office for about three days a week. She is one of those employees whose presence is needed to keep the nervecentre of the state bureaucracy functioning. Monalisa, however, managed to get the second shot about three days ago and now feels more confident at the workplace. “From today, we will attend office regularly and feel like life is almost back to normal,” she said. Most of Monalisa’s colleagues are also attending the office. “Some of our colleagues cannot come from the districts because of transport issues,” said Monalisa.
Many employees in the state secretariat come from Kamrup and Nalbari. Since the inter-district ban on public transport continues along with the curfew from 1 pm to 5 am, they are in a fix over the government order. Nevertheless, the attendance in the state secretariat by and large remains the same as it was a week before.
The office of the Inspector of Schools (IS) in Panbazar was wearing a deserted look till last week. When the second wave hit the state, there was panic. But many of the employees in this office got their first dose before the assembly polls in March-April and by now have also received the second shot. “About 70% of the employees attended their duties on Monday. The second dose has made them confident,” said Kamrup (Metropolitan) IS, Prasanna Bora.
Contrary to this, the buzz was missing in many other offices on Monday. District transport officer Gautam Das said hardly 10-20% increase in attendance was seen on Monday. “Many of the employees are yet to get the second dose. The fear of the virus is still there. So we are not putting too much pressure on our workers,” added Das.
Employees at the deputy commissioner’s office are not a privileged lot and have been working tirelessly despite the crisis situation and without the second jab. As Covid management is being monitored from this important office, Kamrup (Metropolitan) DC Biswajit Pegu told TOI that the majority of the employees are working with intervals. For a while, some even attended office without getting the first shot. “We deal with essential services and so they cannot stay away,” said Pegu.
The apex state government employees’ union, Sadou Asom Karmachari Parishad (SAKP), and the Assam Secretariat Service Association welcomed the mandatory presence of those who received the second shot. But appealed for early vaccination of employees as they may become the carrier of the virus. “Many government employees have not yet received the first dose. The state government must keep this in mind and prioritize their vaccination,” said Partha Hazarika, joint secretary at SAKP.