THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a matter of great concern for people working in the 155-year-old Secretariat building, an additional secretary was injured when a portion of the false ceiling collapsed on him on Friday. The injured is Aji Philip of the Cooperation Department. The incident happened when the aluminium ceiling along with the tubelight fell on Aji around 2 pm. He was rushed to the General Hospital where he is now out of danger.
“Objects weighing five kg fell on the officer’s head from a height of three metres. It was only by luck that his life was saved,” said Kerala Secretariat Association president Irshad M S.
The office of the additional secretary of the Cooperation Department and a portion of the Law Department function above the old Legislative Assembly building.
The incident sparked demands from the employees for a safe working place. “Many buildings are in dangerous conditions. The fact that Friday’s accident took place near a protected heritage building adds to the seriousness of the matter,” said Kerala Secretariat Association General Secretary Purushothaman K P. He accused the government of carrying out superficial work without understanding the implications.
“The government, which spends crores on repairs and maintenance of buildings, shows gross negligence in protecting the buildings of the Secretariat. Every day some repair work is being done in the Secretariat. At present, painting and repair work is being carried out,” he added.
In a statement, Kerala Secretariat Association said that there were reasonable doubts that the government wanted to keep the building unsafe with superficial works so that they could hand over the entire conservation and restoration works to an agency.
The Fire and Safety Department has marked the old building unsafe because of the old electrical wiring, additional contractions that block the escape routes during an emergency and the lack of fire safety precautions. Despite repeated warnings, the issue has not been seriously addressed. There have been incidents of short circuits in the building.
The Administrative Reforms Commission even recommended shifting the secretariat to a new building.
Call for safe workspace
The incident sparked demands from the employees for a safe working place. Many buildings are in dangerous conditions. The fact that Friday’s accident took place near a protected heritage building adds to the seriousness of the matter