MARGAO: Irate fish vendors were furious to discover that the non-functional elevator of the Osia Complex in Margao which houses the office of the SGPDA and other government offices, works selectively, when government officials want it to work. The elevator in this building has not been functioning properly for years and it does not go to certain floors, which forces the public, including senior citizens, to take the stairs.
Recently, during heavy rains, safety concerns led to its shutdown due to sparks in the wiring. But on Thursday, when the vendors were climbing up and down the stairs to meet the SGPDA officials, they were shocked to find a government office staffer operating the elevator when government officials needed to use it, and it switched back on, to ferry refreshments to the government offices, including SGPDA.
Other citizens soon gathered on the ground floor, demanding a clarification from the officials about the selective functioning of the elevator and why the public, especially the sick and elderly, are made to climb the stairs. At the previous SGPDA board meeting, it was decided to install a new elevator, with costs shared by government and private commercial offices in the building.
