No more 5-day working week; Sikkim declares holiday on 2nd & 4th Saturdays
Gangtok: Not happy with the performance of the employees, the Sikkim government has withdrawn the five-day working week system and declared that they will get holidays only on second and fourth Saturdays.
The new system will be effective from April 1, according to a notification.
After coming to power in May last year, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang introduced the five-day working week for employees of the state government and public sector units.
Earlier, it was a six-day week.
However, official sources said, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha government was not happy with the performance of its employees despite providing them holidays on Saturdays.
Modifying the May 28, 2019 notification, Chief Secretary S C Gupta on Monday said that with effect from April 1, 2020, only the second and fourth Saturdays will be holidays for the government and PSU offices in Sikkim.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
