VADODARA: No matter how important your work is, if you are not dressed ‘appropriately’ you won’t be allowed to enter the
Pension Payment Office in Kuber Bhavan, Vadodara. Here visitors wearing
bermuda pants or half pants are barred from entering the office.
A notice hung on the entry gate of the state government office in Gujarati language reads, “Atreni kacheri ni mulakat leta sarvey pensionaro tatha mulakatiyo ne janavanu ke kacheri ni mulakat wakhate barmudo ke half pant peheri kacheri ma pravesh karvo nahi (Pensioners and visitors are hereby informed that they shouldn’t enter the office wearing bermuda or half pants).
Tushar Teredesai, an IT professional, learnt this the hard way on Thursday when he went to the pension office wearing formal
shorts. “I was out for some work when my father, a former employee of MS University, called me and said that there were some issues with his monthly pension. I went to the pension office in Kuber Bhavan to inquire about it,” Teredesai said.
“When I was inquiring about the issue, one of the employees walked up to me and said that wearing shorts in the office wasn’t allowed. At first, I thought he was joking so I just gave a casual smile. But the employee kept insisting that inappropriate dressing isn’t allowed in their office,” Teredesai told TOI.
Teredesai then went to another room as he was looking for the concerned officer to resolve the issue. “That employee followed me to the other room and repeated that entering their office wearing shorts wasn’t allowed. He then asked me to read the notice put on the entry gate of the pension office. I read it and I was surprised,” he said.
An irked Teredesai left the pension office without resolving the issue. “What’s so indecent about wearing shorts? And if some visitor or pensioner walks in wearing shorts, won’t his issues be addressed in the government office?” Teredesai questioned.
A pension payment office employee said, “This signboard was placed several months ago to ensure that people don’t walk in wearing shorts. The younger generation won’t mind it but there are elderly persons working in the office and they won’t like people walking in wearing shorts. The visitors or pensioners come to this office for some work. They shouldn’t be dressed up as if they are going for a picnic.”