Contrary to the prevailing atmosphere of speculation, the departure of senior IAS officer Nikunja Dhal (IAS:1993:OR) from the Odisha CMO has really spelt a sigh of relief for him. Dhal has moved to the Centre to join as Secretary in the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry. He was officially relieved by the Odisha government as Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister on Saturday.
Just a day after being relieved by the state government, Dhal took to social media to clear the air by sharing his plight towards the end of his posting in Odisha. In his LinkedIn post, Dhal has described the workload in Odisha as extraneous and stressful, being unable to even attend to his family and personal matters over the last 18 months.
According to the post, conducting the 2024 General Elections, conducted along with the assembly elections, as the Chief Electoral Officer was the most daunting task, and his subsequent posting as ACS to the Odisha CM exacerbated his situation. He describes how a hectic schedule and long working hours took a heavy toll on his health. Dhal laments in the post that his situation was so pitiable that he could not even take care of his health. So much so that he had to be hospitalized in March.
But Dhal is a happy man now after being moved to the Centre and hopes he will be in a better position to strike a comfortable balance between work and life, which he so miserably missed in his home state, Odisha, as per his post. He had returned to Odisha from central deputation in 2017.
Also Read: Sudden departure of Nikunja Dhal from Odisha CMO sparks speculation
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