JOIN US The State government on Thursday issued an order to change office hours in eight north Karnataka districts from the existing 10 am to 5.30 pm schedule to 8 am to 1.30 pm for April and May, owing to the oppressive summer heat.
All the six districts of the Gulbarga division — Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, and Bellary, and two districts of Belgaum division namely Bijapur and Bagalkot will benefit from the move. The new timings will come into effect from April 5.
Special summer hours, introduced more than three decades ago, had been discontinued last year. According to sources, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar signed the order for the change in Hubli on Wednesday night. The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms formalised the decision by issuing an order on Thursday.
The timings have been changed in spite of resistance from some deputy commissioners on the ground that the reduced working hours may affect governance and services, especially in the light of the State Assembly elections being held on May 5.
The government decision will apply to all State government establishments, its undertakings, urban and rural local bodies, and universities. An estimated one lakh government employees will follow the changed schedule.
The State Government Employees Association had been actively involved in restoring the truncated office hours.