Hyderabad: In Covid eye, BRKR Bhavan forsaken place

HYDERABAD: Even as unlock 2.0 is under way, the temporary secretariat at BRKR Bhavan wears a deserted look with several officials preferring to work from home. Only a skeletal staff are coming to the bhavan to clear very important and urgent files.
The regular work has come to a grinding halt not only in secretariat but also in various directorates and commissionerates. “Top officials are telling us to get files only if they are of utmost importance and from the CMO. There is a sense of fear everywhere in the wake of spiralling pandemic cases,” an office superintendent told TOI.
In the health department alone, more than 260 employees have been infected by the coronavirus. At BRKR Bhavan, staffers in the health, cooperation and minority welfare departments were also infected. In the education department, 12 members of Intermediate board and six in the school education directorate have contracted the virus. In Rangareddy district collectorate, 21 employees got infected. Six TSSPDCL staffers are also among those who had tested positive.
In an earlier circular, office subordinates, date entry operators and security staff were told to attend duty alternate weeks, while circulating officers and clerks on alternate days.