Bengal govt cancels leaves of all employees amid India-Pakistan tensions

Kolkata: In view of the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the West Bengal government on Thursday cancelled the leaves of all state government employees until further notice.

A notification issued by the state finance department cited the "current situation" as the reason behind the decision.

The order applies to all categories of state government employees, and even those who had been sanctioned leave earlier will now have to report back to duty. Only employees on medical leave will be exempt from the directive, the notification clarified.

"No official shall leave their headquarters without the written permission of their respective heads of the department," it stated.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Wednesday said that the leaves of all employees will be cancelled until further notice in view of the current situation.