Latur, Jun 10 (IANS): Irked by the rampant absenteeism and lethargic attitude of officers and staff of the Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC), ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Deputy Mayor Devidas Kale on Monday decided to crack the whip in his own unique style.

In an unprecedented move, Kale went and locked the crucial Town Planning Department's office, sending shockwaves through the entire civic administration.

As word of this spread like wildfire, many workers and officers lolling around elsewhere, scurried back to their workstations to avoid Kale's dark mood.

Confirming the development, Kale squarely blamed the erstwhile Congress rule in the civic body for the current lazy work culture.

"Since past two years, we have been trying to do something good here. But the old habits imbibed in years of Congress rule have not yet gone fully. I had to resort to this measure to send a stern warning," Kale told IANS.

His grouse stemmed from the fact that files have kept piling up since the past six months and no administrative decisions are being taken for public welfare.

"During the last Lok Sabha elections, the staff gave excuses of Model Code of Conduct in force, which prevented them from taking decisions. But its been over two weeks now since the code was withdrawn, yet normalcy has not returned to the civic administration," rued Kale.

On account of this lackadaisical stance, hundreds of people have been complaining to him from Latur and outside, compelling him to go and lock the Town Planning Department offices.

At that time, there were only a couple of clerical staff present, while the entire department was practically empty of officers and other seniors.

He added that in the past, this matter was brought to the notice of the state government but the civic bureaucracy remained unflustered and peoples' woes kept mounting.

Kale hoped that with this 'exemplary' treatment, henceforth the civic staffers would work with renewed vigour and efficiency.

In May 2017, ending several decades of Congress' "autocratic rule", the BJP captured the LMC with 36 seats, the ruling Congress was ousted with 33 and the Nationalist Congress Party with one seat, in the 70-member house.