Employees directed to use public
transport to travel to work from home once a week based on directive by Centre
On Wednesday, employees of the
postal department will head to work and back in public buses, as part of a
campaign to ensure ‘fuel economy’. ‘Bus Day’ is part of an initiative by the
Ministry of Petroleum to generate awareness about the need to conserve petroleum
products, especially in the transport sector. And though some employees are
grumbling about the extra time they will have to spend when using public
transport, they can hardly refuse the Centre’s diktat.
“Ahmedabad’s postal department
employs around 2,000 people and around 80 per cent of them use personal
vehicles to reach office. Even if around 1,500 vehicles are not used in a
single day, it will send out a positive message and give intended results,” said
B R Joshi, senior post master at Navrangpura post office.
“Wednesdays will be ‘Bus Day’ and
we intend to begin the initiative from November 27. The directive is on the
basis of instructions by Ministry of Petroleum and we will ensure they are
followed. Pitching in to conserve fuel is also a moral responsibility,” Joshi
added.
According to Joshi, the ministry
has delivered instructions to the main post offices in Gujarat namely Vadodara,
Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Himmatnagar, Palanpur and Patan, Joshi
informed. “Employees will be required to reach office by buses, not
autorickshaws or taxis. Official work will remain unaffected by this policy,”
he added.
EMPLOYEES UNSURE ABOUT
FOLLOWING DIRECTIVE
Employees, however, are not motivated
to be a part of this campaign. “There are many factors that will discourage an
individual from using public transport. In fact, some employees are certain
these are just instructions and are not to be followed.
Higher authorities will
need to ensure strict vigilance if they want the initiative to be successful,”
said a source from the postal department. Employees in the department confirmed
this sentiment. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one employee said, “These
are just instructions and it is not mandatory for us to follow them.”
Another employee, seeking
anonymity, said, “I reach office in 10 minutes if I drive my own vehicle. If I
use the bus, it will take me 45 minutes to reach office. However, if the
authorities insist, all of us will have to follow the rules.”
PRIVATE SECTOR, COMMON MAN
SUPPORT THOUGHT
Meanwhile, the private sector and
common man seem to be lauding the thought. “While using public transport on a
daily basis will not be feasible for our employees and will affect their
productivity, they do make individual efforts to ensure they do their bit,”
said Sweta Papaiyawala, assistant manager for human resources, Futura Group.
“Most of the employees are part
of car pools; even our peons use bicycles when heading to closer locations,”
she said. JG Chaturvedi, executive directorasset manager at Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) said, “The company understands the importance of
conservation since ONGC is involved in exploring and producing hydrocarbon. We
encourage our workers to use public transport.“
He added, “We have also
arranged bus services and car pooling to help conserve fuel.” Meanwhile,
lauding the initiative, Gayatri Dave who works with a bank near Ashram Road
said, “If the postal department complies with this directive, not only will
there be fuel conservation but it well help curb traffic flow for a day.”
MINISTRY SPEAK
‘Bus Day’ is part of the Union
government's nationwide campaign aimed at cutting oil demand. Declared by
Petroleum Minister M .Veerappa Moily in
September 2013, employees will be required to use public transport once a week
as part of this mega fuel conservation campaign.
Source : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com
