Bhubaneswar: Amid hot and humid weather conditions forecast, for Odisha the administrations in Khurda and Boudh districts have rescheduled working hours for government offices from Friday to safeguard employees and the public from extreme afternoon temperature.
Khurda Collector Amrit Ruturaj issued an order announcing that all state government offices, along with Revenue and Executive Magistrate courts in the district, will operate from 7am to 1 pm without a lunch break. This change will continue until June 15.
However, the revised timings do not apply to government offices in the state capital of Bhubaneswar.
Similarly, the Boudh Collector Bibhuti Bhushan Nayak has directed all government offices in the district to function
from 7 am to 1 pm with no lunch break, starting April 10 and continuing until further orders. Officials have encouraged citizens to complete their official work during the morning hours to avoid exposure to peak heat.
Other districts, such as Kalahandi, have also implemented similar early morning office schedules till mid-June, as temperatures in western and interior regions like Boudh, Balangir, and Jharsuguda are forecast to soar above 40°C.
These measures align with a broader state-level advisory issued by the Odisha Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Department in late March. It restricts outdoor work between 11 am and 3 pm from April 1 to June 15 across government, private, industrial, and construction sectors to prevent heatstroke cases. District collectors have been empowered to implement additional localised steps based on ground conditions.
To mitigate the impact of the heatwave, school timings for all government, government-Aided, and privately managed educational institutions have been rescheduled to 6:30 am to 10:30 am and will remain in force until the commencement of the summer vacation.