At a time when the devastation wreaked in Uttarakhand has killed thousands, affecting not just locals and infrastructure, but also people across the nation, the State Secretariat continues to work five days a week from 11 am to 5 pm with a two-hour lunch break.
PFA Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi said this while questioning why the Government machinery in Dehradun was not putting in more work to tackle the disaster and its aftermath.
“With the Secretariat functioning as usual as if there was no disaster, the Government has not moved a bit to process relief files for the stranded and injured animals. The Animal Husbandry teams are charging disaster-affected persons fees to treat their injured animals because the file pertaining to free treatment to animals is yet to be cleared in the Secretariat. These are working animals on which the economic health of the region depends. The Uttarakhand Government has failed miserably to ensure short or long term economic health of the citizens by irresponsibly flouting rules and not showing any will to salvage the situation after the disaster. When the Government machinery is expected to work to its full capacity, the Secretariat should also be working more efficiently, which is not the case," she said. She questioned how the State Government can be so irresponsible towards its citizens.