UP on austerity drive, government events at hotels banned
Lucknow, Sep 19: No government parties, events, functions and workshops of the Uttar Pradesh government will now on be held in private hotels, an official said on Wednesday.
This has been ordered by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as part of an austerity drive to cut down on government expenditure, the official told IANS.
For all these events, government departments will have to use government buildings and campuses, a letter from Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey to all departmental heads says.
In case hosting such an event in a hotel is absolutely necessary, the Chief Secretary's permission would be mandatory.
Barring unavoidable circumstances, all government officials and employees will now on fly economy class. Bureaucrats cannot use government money to send greeting cards, gifts, calendars and diaries on New Year and other occasions.
The guidelines will be binding on all government departments, public sector undertakings, local bodies and state varsities.
All these entities of the state governments have asked not to get new guest houses constructed. Officials have also been barred from changing the furnishings and furniture at their office.
With an exception on security grounds, purchase of new vehicles has also been banned. Officials have been asked to ensure that government expenditure on commuting was minimized by more use of e-mail, video conferencing and other communication modes.
The government has also asked the departments to cut down on travels, specially foreign trips, printing and publishing, writing stationary, furniture and equipment, interior designing of offices, hospitality of guests and on advertisements and publicity.
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Repolling underway at booth of Karimganj North assembly seat in Assam
Guwahati (PTI): Polling is underway on Saturday at a booth of Karimganj (North) assembly constituency in Assam’s Sribhumi district, where re-election was ordered following clashes between supporters of the BJP and the Congress two days ago, officials said.
The repolling in booth number 239 at Babyland High English School commenced at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm.
“Repolling is going on smoothly, and the momentum is expected to pick up as the day progresses. Arrangements for free and fair polling have been ensured,” the official said.
The re-election was ordered following clashes between supporters of the BJP and the Congress.
"There were reports of some issues on April 9, the polling day for the Assam assembly elections, and hence, the repolling was ordered,” the official said.
The booth has a total of 599 voters.
There are 14 candidates in the fray in this Barak Valley constituency, with a triangular contest among BJP's Subrata Bhattacharjee, Congress' Jakaria Ahmed and Choudhury Hibbur Rasul Usama Mabrur of the AIUDF.
The overall polling percentage in the constituency was recorded at 86.15 on Thursday.
Elections to all 126 assembly constituencies in the state were held in a single phase on April 9, with an approximate voter turnout of 85.91 per cent.
The final voter turnout figures are yet to be declared by the Election Commission.
