Kokkayar village office struggles with space, staff seek support from locals

Kokkayar: The Kokkayar village office at Narakampuzha in Idukki can accommodate only a single visitor at a time, while others have to wait outside, as it operates from a single-room shop. Facing a severe space crunch, the employees at the village office also struggle to work efficiently.

The office is located in a room that was earlier a shop and lacks even basic space to store files. Making matters worse, the employees are also forced to pay the shop rent and electricity bills.

The woes of the village office began when construction of a new building began three years ago to make it a smart facility. Work on the new building was initiated with an estimate of ₹44 lakh. However, the project could not be completed with this amount, causing a delay in shifting the office to the new premises.

An additional ₹6 lakh was later sanctioned after the ‘mandalam’ committee of the Congress party filed a complaint with the District Collector. However, this amount could not be utilised due to procedural issues.

Consequently, the employees have been forced to seek the support of local residents to arrange chairs, tables, cabins and other facilities to shift to the new building, and are also engaged in efforts to approach sponsors for the purpose. Local people said that despite numerous complaints to the authorities, no action has been taken to resolve the issues crippling the functioning of the village office.