RUKUM: A trend of leaving the district on various

pretexts and not returning for months, sometimes years, has been hitting hard district dwellers as they are deprived of services in government offices.

District Post Office is without chief for over a year. While, as many as 10 other offices here are without their chiefs for the past two months.

District Development Committee, District Administration Office, District Police Office, Women Development Office, District Agriculture Office, District Court, National Investigation Department and District Election Office, among others, are those where local residents hardly get their official chores done.

Some of the chiefs have left the district due to “official works”. However, sources privy to the practice claim that most of them could be found at their home.

Chief District Officer Devaraj Dhakal, police chief Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk and district chief of National Investigation of Department, Jit Bahadur Thapamagar, left the district over a week ago saying to attend a regional security conference in Nepalgunj, sources said. “But there are no signs of their early return even as the conference was over in two days,” said the source. Many service seekers, who frequent the offices but return empty-handed, have demanded action against the chiefs going AWOL for long time.