Haridwar DM withholds salary of two officials on Yatra duty

The District Magistrate Deepak Rawat has  stopped payment of two officials for not  doing the  assigned Char Dham yatra-related duties and asked them to complete the assigned tasks within the stipulated time or face sterner action.  It is learnt that the order to block the payment of the duo  was issued by the DM in course   of the  char dham review meeting. The officers whose salary was blocked are   the district supplies officer Rahul Sharma and assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) Manish Tiwari. It is further learnt that they failed to complete the assigned task of putting rate lists at  the hotels and the inns and pasting the  fare list on the taxis and  the public transport  vehicles which are ferrying the pilgrims to the four shrines.

Notably, the DM had asked the officials of various departments on  April 17 to complete the pilgrimage –related preparations in a week. He had also asked the district supplies officer and the ARTO  to put up  the rate lists  as fixed at the lodges and on the public transport vehicles.

He made it clear that he would not brook such laid-back attitude to such important works. “We have stopped their salary with immediate effect and the payment would remain blocked till the works assigned to them are completed. In a way, the DM has tightened the screw on those officers who are not taking their works seriously in one way or the other. This was the kind of message the DM wanted to convey.

They failed to  complete the tasks given to them even in a week.

This is sheer irresponsibility as the pilgrims who have already started streaming in would be in problem because of their apathy to the assigned duties,” DM said.