PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, April 29: With the scorching heat at its peak in the Jharkhand capital, there are only two water filters available in the G+5 collectorate building at Kutchery Chowk where daily visitors have to either purchase water from outside or have to find a water source to quench their thirst.
The G+5 collectorate building, which is divided into two blocks, has one water filter each in both the blocks that too on the third floor.
On the issue, Nazarat deputy collector Keval Krishna Aggarwal said that provision for clean drinking water is being made outside the building. Along with that, two water filters are also placed on the third floor of both the blocks.
“People visiting collectorate for their different works can also get drinking water from the offices placed in the building, as each office have the facility of clean drinking water,” he added.
Insiders said that many water filters got defunct due to the poor maintenance and now only two water filters are there in both the building which will also get defunct as no one is there to look after them.
Khushi Kumari, who was at the collectorate to submit a driving license application said, “I had to roam here and there for a glass of water to quench my thirst. Unfortunately, such a prestigious office in the city does not have the facility for clean drinking water. At least one water filter should be there on each floor of the building.”
A resident of Chutia, who came to the collectorate to receive his ration card said, “I forgot to bring a water bottle and after asking several people finally I reached the third floor of the Block-A where I quenched my thirst with a glass of water.”
Besides clean drinking water, there are several other facilities which people do not get due to the poor maintenance of the building. The collectorate building also holds a breastfeeding room which is also closed and the visitors are denied the service.
The G+5 building at Kutchery Chowk, built-in 2009, is divided into two blocks. Each boasts eight elevators, but of the total 16, at least 8 are officially out of order. Out of the 8 operation elevators, 6 are working in Block-A while only 2 are working in Block-B.
Built primarily for disaster mitigation, the district’s largest public office currently hosts chambers of the deputy commissioner, deputy collectors, SDO, SSP and SP, besides the records rooms, foreign cell and Pragya Kendra. It has a workforce of 700 and witnesses a daily visitor footfall of 2,000.
“Most of these lifts have been out of order for as long as I can remember. The ones that work are equally dicey. You never know when they might get jammed. Last year, four of us were stuck in one of the lifts for 30 minutes before we were rescued,” recalled Manoj Kumar, a resident of Harmu.
