Dilapidated office building haunts staff, visitors
The staff of and visitors to Kalia upazila settlement office in Narail district pass their time amid fear of accident any time as the 73-year-old building has turned risky due to lack of repair.
The Kalia upazila is about 48 kilometres away from the district headquarters.
During a recent visit to the office, about 48 kilometres away from the district headquarters, this correspondent found rods of roofs exposed at many places and several cracks on the walls. Chunks of plaster fallen off roofs and walls were seen on the floors. Hanging electric cables pose risk for employees and visitors.
The first floor of the two-storied building is used for Kalia upazila assistant settlement officer's court while there are rooms for other staff and record books on the ground floor.
Several lakh record books of land kept in the building are getting damaged as rainwater enter the building through walls, said Md Easin Mollah, surveyor.
"We are working here amid life risk as chunks of plaster often fall off while rainwater entering the building causes damage to valuable documents," said Md Mujibor Rahman, office cum bench assistant.
Ashok Chakrobarty, a visitor from Patna village under Kalia upazila, said, "We often come here for our land-related purposes amid risk of accident anytime due to the dilapidated condition of the building.”
Md Kamruzzaman, assistant settlement officer of Kalia upazila, said, "We use the building as our office upon yearly lease from Kalia AC land office. We sent several letters to the higher authorities concerned, demanding immediate reconstruction of the building but to no effect."
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