Cops’ rundown Panvel office held up by bamboo scaffoldings

NEW PANVEL: It’s a ramshackle structure supported by bamboo scaffoldings with parts of ceiling plaster fallen off at several places, threatening to collapse any time. Yet the construction authorities for the community centre in New Panvel that houses the office of assistant police commissioner say they are yet to take a call on the building’s repair.

The one-storey building adjacent to Banthiya High School houses was built in 1985 by Cidco. Besides the ACP office, the building houses a health centre, Cidco’s health department office, land acquisition office, a gym and an auditorium.

Of these, the ACP office shows visible signs of deterioration and needs urgent repair while the other offices seem to be in good condition. The 1,800 square feet ACP office clearly poses a risk to life to the seven employees who work here and hundreds of visitors who frequent it including police personnel and lawyers.

A few days ago, a portion of the ceiling plaster had reportedly come crashing down. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The ceiling shows such cracks at several places.

When a s ke d , Sheshrao Suryavanshi, Assistant Police Commissioner, Panvel, said the department had written to Cidco about the poor condition of the building, asked it to shift the office to a new location and carry out building repair.

A Cidco official when contacted, on condition of anonymity said, “We have carried out structural audit of the building. The report of the audit is yet to come. Based on the report, we will take a final call on the building repair.”