OGRA bosses spend a day in Nathiagali amid flood fury

ISLAMABAD: In a rare development, almost 90 per cent staff of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), with 45 officers including the chairman and two members, spent the whole workday i.e Friday on a trip to Nathiagali on official expenses.

At a time when Pakistan is facing a catastrophic flood and country’s infrastructure has been badly affected and transportation of fuel across the country can be disrupted, OGRA’s top management chose to stay away from official activities on Friday and spent the whole working day as Fitness Day at the scenic Nathiagali and its suburbs ignoring the fact that any complaint can come to the regulator or government can seek regulator’s input on any issue. 

“No official department or entity cannot afford its staff with the chairman and two members to remain out of the scene for the whole working day, but this unfortunately happened,” a senior official told The News.

The OGRA spokesman confirmed the development saying that this initiative was taken for team-building purposes. However, the spokesman said that he himself, the Gas Member, and some staff are very much in the office to deal with any issue. When asked why OGRA’s top management chose the working day for the day out for team building, he offered no comments. 

A copy of the Friday’s schedule to spend as Fitness Day is available with The News according to which seven Toyota Coasters carrying the staff will depart on Friday morning from the OGRA office at 8.30 am to reach Ayubia and one coaster will directly go to Donga Gali. At 11 am, all the staff will walk from Ayubia to Donga Gali for one hour only and cover 3.5 km of scenic track. They will take lunch at 12 noon at Donga Gali and a group photo will also be taken. The OGRA’s staff will also offer the Jumma prayer at 1.30 at a nearby mosque and will depart for Islamabad at 2.30 pm and arrive at the office at 5 pm.

This is how the OGRA top management and 45 other officers spent Friday’s working day for team-building purposes and served the nation while remaining in hilly areas. —