SANKHUWASABHA: The government office chiefs are found absent in most of the offices here in the district headquarters Khandbari for a long time.

Chiefs of 26 government offices are out of the district from the last 20 days. The office chiefs, who had gone their home on “home leave” during the end of the last fiscal year, are yet to join their offices.

Consequently, service seekers have been facing problems to have their official chores done.

According to leaders of civil society in the district, the problem has been worsening as other junior staffers and acting chiefs are not carrying out the duties properly so as to satisfy the service seekers.

Various offices including Khandbari Municipality, District Development Committee, Nepal Telecom and Women Development Office are without chiefs for a long time, local residents said.

Those frequenting the municipality office lamented as they were facing hardship ever since the transfer of Rajan Rai, executive officer, and there has been no one to replace him as yet. Several works in the DDC, including financial and administrative, have been almost halted as LDO Yubraj Subedi is out of the district for weeks.

Acting chief is holding everything in Nepal Telecom office after the transfer of its chief Bhim Bahadur Katawal two months ago.

Sources at the offices said they were facing difficulties in carrying out duties as they have no rights to take decision on various important issues such as financial and administrative tasks.

“We’ll collect data as to find out how many days the chiefs are absent in the offices,” acting CDO, Rajendra Sigdel, said.

“All the absentee officials, except those deployed on official work, will be shortly directed to return to the district at the earliest,” he said.