Bad sanitation stinks up AP's new Secretariat

Vijayawada: People visiting the AP Secretariat at Velagapudi are forced to bear the stink from garbage dumped at the site, and that is the only the tip of the iceberg. There is no provision for drinking water in the cafeteria or in other areas, as the RO drinking water plants that had been installed in every block are no longer functional.

Sensors of the auto-flushers in the washrooms don’t work, leading to foul smells which emanate across the entire floor. Some taps in the washrooms are broken, causing leakages and overflowing basins. To add to this, there is no proper waiting area for visitors and no seating arrangements in the halls, forcing people to spend long hours standing in the sun.

The new Secretariat has been constructed over a premises of 6,00,000 sq. yards. It contains five blocks and an Assembly Building, which is still under construction. Of the five blocks, the first is the Chief Minister’s office, and the other four blocks house the offices of ministers, secretaries and other officials.

Every day, nearly 2,500 staff members and 1,000 visitors are present at the Secretariat. Mr Gangadhar, an employee at the Secretariat said, “It is very inconvenient to work in such an environment, and it is distressing to see how the newly-constructed Secretariat, which was supposed to be a world-class construction, has failed to be maintained.”

The CRDA has been charged with the maintenance, sanitation and cleanliness of the premises; but even though the new construction is not even a 100 days old yet, it seems no different than the old government offices.

The Additional Comm-issioner of the CRDA, Mr Mallikarjuna, said, “Until today, we had employed local worker-women to maintain the cleanliness and sanitation, they may not have used the right equipment while cleaning.”