VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
The building has been declared unsafe as it is vulnerable to collapse. The elevators stop functioning regularly, the toilets stink and hanging electricity wires not only make an ugly picture but also pose a danger to life.
The building is the Junta House, home to various government offices and when constructed in 1963 the tallest in Goa. It once had residences for government employees and government offices, but today consists mainly of government offices, including the Directorate of Transport, Directorate of Forests, Sub Registrar, Statistics and others.
“One does not get a good feeling on entering the building but there is no alternative. I don’t understand how office employees spend their entire day here. It’s not just filthy but also risky considering that it could collapse anytime,” Prashant Parab, a 31-year-old, who was visiting a government office on Monday, told Herald.
The building’s physical structure is weak and the State government is turning a blind eye to the safety of its employees working there as well as the hundreds of people, who visit the different offices daily.
The structure also does not have any crucial fire safety measures in place, despite several recommendations by the Fire Services made as per the National Building Code of India 2005 (Part IV) (Fire and Life Safety). It has only fire extinguishers.
Another individual, a final year graduation student Shalom Nunes, said, “There is no proper exit to these attached buildings. The passages are narrow, if there is any emergency, it will be a difficult task to evacuate people quickly.”
Minor renovations were recently carried out and the building painted from inside. But this hasn’t given the building a much-needed facelift. A few government departments are contemplating shifting from the building that stands dangerously in the State’s capital.
