Bareilly: Three PWD workers have been allegedly ignoring their official duties to look after the house of former chief engineer (Bareilly division) Himanshu Mittal, who was transferred to Allahabad last year and has been living there with his family since then. According to some PWD officials, the workers have also been tasked with taking care of Mittal’s pet dog at his house in Greater Green Park locality.When TOI visited the house on Thursday, it was locked. Some basic enquiry from neighbours confirmed that three people have been working in shifts to take care of the house and the dog. “We have learnt that they are PWD staff. Earlier, eight of them were deployed here. After Mittal was transferred, only three stayed back,” said a neighbour.Officials confirmed that the three men are PWD workers. “They are supposed to look after maintenance of roads and other civic works. However, for over a year, they have not been properly discharging their duties,” said a PWD official who did not wish to be named.Asked about the matter, acting PWD chief engineer, Bareilly division, Rakesh Rajvanshi said, “As of now, I am not aware about any of our workers discharging duties at someone’s private residence. However, I will look into the issue and will take strict action against anyone who has been skipping work for whatever reason.”TOI has learnt that while two of the workers deputed at Mittal’s residence are supposed to look after the maintenance of Bareilly-Bisalpur route, the third one is assigned duty Pilibhit road. These workers draw a monthly salary of Rs 25,000-30,000 each.Meanwhile, former chief engineer Himanshu Mittal said, “These are baseless allegations. My house has been locked for the past one year. I have never asked any PWD worker for a personal favour.”

Stay updated with all the Bareilly Lates News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.