On chauffeur's last day at work, district collector drives him to office!





On his last day at work, Digambar Thak got a wonderful farewell gift: his boss, Akola

district collector G Sreekanth, drove him to office in the official car. Thak retired on Friday after serving as a driver in the revenue department for 33 years. Thak had seen many bosses, good and bad, over the years, but never one like Sreekanth. Though Thursday started on a sad note for Thak, it turned out to be the most memorable day of his life.

As was his routine, Thak reached the official residence of Sreekanth in the morning.He expected to drive the collector to his office and at the end of the day drive him back.Then he would go back to his own home for the last time from work.

However, a pleasant surprise was in store for Thak. When he saw the official car bedecked with flowers, he was a bit puzzled and had no inkling of the gift he was about to receive. When Sreekanth offered to drive him to office, he was taken aback.

Since when had this high-ranking official started indulging in persiflage, he thought. However, when the collector told him this was his farewell gift, Thak was overwhelmed. He pleaded with the collector to change his decision, but to no avail.

“I don't have the words to describe my feelings. I feel I must have something worthwhile in my service to deserve this honour,“ Thak told TOI, his voice choked with emotion. Sreekanth didn't stop at this. The collector made Digambar sit on the chair next to him and then felicitated him and his wife in the presence of all the collectorate employees. “He also gave me gifts,“ Thak added.

Thak's colleagues were impressed when Sreekanth asked them to arrange the felicitation but the gesture to drive him to office had them at a loss for words. “Not only Digambar, but all junior staff at the collectorate also felt honoured by the gesture,“ a staffer in the collector's personal office said.

Sreekanth doesn't feel he has done anything extraordinary . “I have just respected the dignity of labour. Indians have forgotten that but in Western countries a driver or a washerman is as important as a bureaucrat,“ he told TOI.

“Digambar had served the government for 33 years whereas I am only 31-year old. Collectors get recognition but their drivers don't, even though they work relentlessly for their bosses,“ he said.

Source: TOI