MALKANGIRI: The 60-year-old Balimela post office has been running from dilapidated Potteru irrigation project building posing life threat to the staff as well as the people who come to get their work done.
Cracks have developed at several places of the building while the asbestos sheets of the roof have worn out threatening to collapse any time. The post office staff alleged that water leaks from the roof and rain water enters the building during rainy season.
Having no boundary wall, the office has become a centre of nuisance for the anti-social elements in the evening. The post office caters to 50,000 people in Balimela town and peripheral areas, including the rural pockets through its sub-post offices. There is also no water supply and toilets in the post office under Swachha Bharat mission.
Post Master Bijaya Kumar Nayak said, “With no other option, we are forced to work in the unsafe building despite threat perception, putting our lives at risk. Though we have taken up the matter with the Potteru irrigation officials in the past, no step has been taken to repair the building. Official document including certificates, papers and cash chest are not safe. The Government needs to repair the building urgently.”
In a letter to the Executive Engineer of Potteru irrigation, Koraput Division Senior Superintendent of Post Offices on August 31, 2018 had brought the issue to his notice and urged him to repair the building immediately or provide an alternative accommodation to run the post office.Meanwhile, locals have also sought intervention of the Potteru irrigation and India Post officials to declare the building unsafe and run the post office from another building.