In a bid to bolster support among female voters ahead of the upcoming elections, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on March 12 sanctioned annual 10 days of additional casual leave for women government employees.
“Government employees generally avail 15 days of casual leave every year. Odisha CM has announced additional 10 for women government employees. As a result of which women employees can now avail 25 days of casual leave annually,” a statement issued by Chief Minister’s Office said.
The decision has been taken keeping in mind the family responsibilities and various problems of women. In 1990s, Odisha was the first State in the country to reserve 33% of government jobs for women. Now, a sizeable section of the government employees are women. In some departments, women have outnumbered their male counterparts in the State, which has close to 4.5 lakh government employees.
