Power department staff in Rewa worked wearing helmets as dilapidated building shed plaster
Employees at the MPEB control room in Nehru Nagar, Rewa, wore helmets as plaster kept falling from the six-year-old building; a computer operator was hit on the foot by falling ceiling.
A strange but serious picture emerged from Rewa city. Employees at the power department (MPEB) control room in Nehru Nagar were forced to work wearing helmets. The reason was that the building, constructed only six years earlier, was dilapidated, with plaster continuously falling from its roof and walls. Recently a part of the ceiling crashed down and fell on a computer operator’s foot. It was fortunate that his head was spared; otherwise a major accident could have occurred.
Computer operator Aashrit Mishra
After the incident, colleagues were so shaken that they wore helmets to stay safe. Such a sight was usually seen near sub-stations or electric poles, but employees then needed protective gear even inside the office and control room.
Computer operator Aashrit Mishra said part of the ceiling suddenly broke and fell the previous day while he was working. By chance he was sitting with his chair pulled slightly back, which saved him from serious injury. He said protecting the head had become most important, so wearing a helmet even in the office was a compulsion. They worked in fear every day.
Maintenance in-charge Anil Singh
Maintenance in-charge Anil Singh said this was the result of poor construction. He said the building had been built only six years earlier, yet conditions were so bad that the whole structure looked like a ruin. Plaster fell from the ceiling every other day. He said people were afraid even to go to the toilet in case the ceiling collapsed. Singh added that he had been complaining to senior officers about the problem for four years. Inspections were also held several times, but each time it was a mere formality, and the matter was shelved citing funds.
Employees said the condition of the office and control room was so dangerous that a major accident could happen any day. They had informed departmental officers about the state of the building many times, but no concrete step had been taken to improve it. They demanded immediate repair of the building or an alternative arrangement so that they would not have to work at risk to their lives.
This picture of the MPEB office in Nehru Nagar also went viral on social media. People asked how consumer safety was being ensured when the power department’s own employees were not safe. The report claimed that the six-year-old building had fallen victim to corruption and employees’ lives were then at risk.
