Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday paid an unscheduled visit to the offices of two departments on different floors at the state secretariat to check the attendance of employees.

The visit comes two days after the chief minister expressed her annoyance over a section of employees' alleged tendency to join programmes organised to demand a hike in dearness allowance (DA) by bunking offices.

According to a source, Mamata, whose chamber is on the 14th floor of Nabanna, asked her security personnel to stop the lift on the sixth floor, which houses the offices of the land and land reforms department. She alighted from the lift and started visiting different rooms.

"In her usual style, she began talking to the employees and enquiring about what they were doing.... She also checked whether all employees of the department had been in office on time," said a source.

On her way to the top floor, Mamata got off on the 12th floor where the finance department's offices are located. She went to various rooms to get a sense of attendance and work atmosphere, the source added. The chief minister then spent about 10 minutes in the room of finance secretary Manoj Pant.

This is not the first time that Mamata made unscheduled visits to the offices at Nabanna.

She had gone to the office of the home and hill affairs department, which is under her, on March 15 and was surprised to see only 25 per cent of the staff in their seats. Multiple sources said she was upset with the low attendance.