Bureaucrats please forget colourful dresses

Patna, Aug 26 (UNI) If you are a bureaucrat in Bihar, sober dressing on working days is the order of the day.

From tomorrow onwards all bureaucrats, either male or female, will have to follow a dress code. The male bureaucrats will have to wear a sober-coloured shirt with black or light coloured trousers, while their female counterparts would be clad either in saree and blouse with long sleeves or to wear salwar kameez with dupatta.

The female IAS officers will have to dump their trendy dresses in their wardrobes while on duty.

The new look will have a positive psychological impact in the working atmosphere, felt State Home Secretary Afzalamanullah.

Mr Amanullah, who is fond of colourful attires and on several occasions was seen in printed shirts even while on duty, has now for the past two days been dressing in white shirt teamed with a sober-colured trousers.

Welcoming the decision for enforcing the dress code Mr Amanullah said it would develop a work culture in the offices as no one would give casual look. He advocated for maintainence of decorum in the office and stated that the officers were in the habbit of puting on coloured T-shirts and some unusual dresses.

A related circular was re-issued recently and the dress code would be effective from tomorrow.

The government had prescribed the dress code for the bureaucrats on June 24, 1954, but they gradually ignored the circulars to dress as per their choice.

The decision for reissuing the old circular was taken following a cognizence taken by the Patna High Court. Taking strong notice of the dress of two officials, who had recently appeared before the court, the Judges slapped a fine of Rs 5000 an each of them for their casual wear.

The officers, who were fined for not adhering to the dress code, were Additional Collector of Munger R N Choudhry and an Executive Magistrate N K Singh.

The enraged court had also directed the state chief secretary to ensure that the dress code of 1954 was strictly followed and file an affidavit about the dress code of the state government.

UNI