Godavari River board women staff seek action against senior official over misconduct, harassment

Hyderabad: The women employees working in the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) have filed a complaint with the Ministry of Jal Shakti seeking action against member-secretary of the river board R Azhagesan for unwarranted and unprofessional behaviour resulting in harassment.

The employees, on behalf of the Hyderabad Engineers Association, wrote a letter to the secretary of the Ministry to intervene and transfer Azhagesan. A representation has also been mailed and posted to the ministry regarding the harassment of women employees in GRMB here on behalf of the TIGERS Association.

Unsolicited comments, say staffers

They said that Azhagesan often tells women employees to invite him to their houses and often speaks about his previous workplaces like Farakka Barrage saying the women employees there were ‘moving very freely and closely with him.’ The employees said that Azhagesan makes sexually coloured remarks against them which are against the freedom to live peacefully at the workplace.

“We have complained that his behaviour is causing mental agony, anxiety and stress to them. In several instances, employees, individually and collectively, have brought the issues to the notice of the chairman, GRMB,” they said in the letter.

Complaints to the GRMB chairman did not yield results

“Last year, some employees of the State Government, who worked in GRMB, along with about 50 representatives from various associations wrote to the GRMB chairman about Azhagesan’s misbehaviour and his body-shaming comments on women and requested action to provide a conducive working environment for them,” the letter said.

Despite repeated submissions to the chairman, Azhagesan’s behaviour continued to be the same. Fed up, the employees of GRMB (working on deputation from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State) made another representation to the GRMB chairman on December 16, 2024, about Azhagesan and the complaint was referred to Internal Complaints Committee, GRMB. ICC was formed as per the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act (POSH).

“We request the secretary, DoWR, RD&GR, MOJS to kindly intervene in the aforementioned grievances of women employees of GRMB and conduct an enquiry by the competent authority and to take disciplinary action against Azhagesan. We also request to transfer him to safeguard the workplace dignity of women employees at GRMB,” the employees said.