The Pujas may have ended but it’s still “idol” time at the Writers’ Buildings, the seat of the West Bengal government.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has just come back from a vacation at Mython in Burdwan district. So has Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Madrasa Abdus Sattar, who was away holidaying in far-off Rajasthan.

Reena Venkatraman, the Principal Secretary at the Minority Affairs department, is off to Libya while Subesh Das, Principal Secretary to the chief minister, reported for duty this afternoon after a visit to scenic Bhutan.

And with the ministers and top bureaucrats packing their bags, the lesser babus are not far behind in following suit. They are also off to various destinations across the country, savouring the sabbatical that Writers’ offered for the festive season.

The festive season started on September 25, the day Durga Puja began, and came to an end on September 29. But when the offices re-opened yesterday after the five-day holiday, only a few employees and ministers were around at the Writers’ for duty.

Reasons are not hard to guess. Tomorrow being the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a national holiday, followed by a weekend, babus are packing bags again for a three-day sabbatical till October 5.

Files are stuck, and the Writers’, usually bustling with activity, is still. Hardly any work was done at any department in the intervening two days as employees were seen huddled in endless addas over tea and snacks, offering Vijaya greetings to each other, playing cards, etc.

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