Babus racing against time to get their fingers on Aadhar-based biometric attendance system, passing comments on superior technology - that's how the day begins at Project Building, the main secretariat of the State government.
On Thursday, the corridor of Project Building was abuzz with - Kaam kar raha hai hoIJ (Hey! is it working) and shouts of - kamey nahin kar raha hai (It is not working). Babus were looking at their fingers in dismay as their finger prints could not be authenticated by the Aadhaar-based device.
The biometric attendance system, installed at the initiative of Chief Secretary R S Sharma on July 1, was supposed to ensure punctuality among officers and employees and help improve the work culture at the State secretariat.
They were seen running from one biometric device to another in the same building and this suggested that the biometric device was not accepting their attendance. A voice suddenly catches their attention- Server down hai. kaam nahin karega (Server is down. It will not work.)- explaining the bizarre behaviour of the attendance system.
Why the system is not workingIJ Barsat main kabhi-kabhi problem ho jaata hai phir apne theek bhi ho jaata hai (It happens occasionally during the rainy season, however, it automatically gets solved) - replied a woman employee sitting in front of a computer at Project Building.
But the impassive response could not stop people from pressing their fingers with brute force.
Ka system lagaya hai! (What they have installed!), said an employee after repeatedly failing to register his attendance which is mandatory for the employees. The system is working on the other side, said an employee. App Hindustan ka hi baat kar rahe hain na (Are you talking about HindustanIJ) quipped another employee adding chaliye-chaliye lift aa gaya (lets go, lift has arrived).
Though there is nothing wrong in the technology, yet people are either not aware of the way to use it or simply love the traditional way of registering attendance which they deem to be foolproof.
"They can always mark their presence in the attendance register," said a woman employee monitoring the biometric system.
Interestingly, the IT department officials played down the technical glitch as it is often resolved in time.
"Glitches like these are normally rectified in time. We have a team to monitor biometric attendance system," said Deputy Secretary, IT Nand Kishore.
Ironically, the system which was supposed to inculcate discipline among the employees seems to have yielded less than satisfactory result as the employees were seen reaching office even after 11 am.
Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary has ordered installation of the biometric attendance system at Nepal House, FFP Building, Telephone Bhawan, Engineer's Building, besides other departments in the Secretariat.
According to sources in the IT department, the system would be installed at the remaining places in the second phase as and as per the instruction by the concerned departments.
Sharma has also recently asked the Health department to install biometric attendance system at district hospitals, referral hospitals, Primary Health Centres and Sub Centres as soon as possible. This can ensure better health services.
This initiative is undertaken to capture in-time, out-time, leaves and concessions provided to the employees and generation of analytical reports. The process is designed to monitor absentees, and keep tab on the staff's attendance. It is meant to keep track of irregular staff.