Heat wave compels Ahmedabad, Rajkot govt offices to open early

Till Thursday, these civic centres used to remain open from 10.30 am to 6.10 pm without any break in between.

Jan Seva Kendras in Ahmedabad will also to open one hour earlier in the morning, announced the district administration on Friday. “Jan Seva Kendras will stay open from 9.30 am to 6.10 pm for the next one week instead of the current 10.30 am to 6.10 pm…,” a statement issued by Ahmedabad collector’s office said.

Ahmedabad on Friday recorded the highest temperature of 45.5 degree Celsius in the state. An orange alert, with a heatwave warning, has been issued for Ahmedabad district by the India Meteorological Department.

Rajkot district collector Prabhav Joshi said, “During a recent video-conference of collectors, an idea was floated to advance the business hours during the day to make government services available to people during early morning hours when temperature is not too high. Therefore, we have decided to open the Janseva Kendras early in the morning.”

Janseva Kendras are a sort of single-window clearance centres, which accept applications addressed to various departments of a mamlatdar or collector office and forward them to concerned departments. They function under the Apno Taluko Vibrant Taluko (ATVT) initiative of the state government. “While Janseva Kendras will open a little early in the morning, business hours of offices of other departments will continue to be the same,” the collector said, adding that the new arrangements will be in place for the next fortnight.

Upleta mamlatdar Mahesh Dhanwani said that the change in business hours of civic centres will help people. “At present, as the process of admissions to schools and colleges is on, we are witnessing a rush of applicants seeking certificates of income, castes and non-creamy-layers or availing benefits of reservation. The changed business hours will help applicants, as they will have the option to visit our civic centre early, get their work done and return home before weather turns too hot.” Incidentally, Rajkot city police, too, has changed duty hours of traffic police personnel and traffic brigade volunteers due to the heat.

On Friday, the city police also erected gantries with net coverings at traffic junctions in Rajkot to provide relief to people from the heat. Similar gantries also came up in Vadodara.