Imphal, January 23: Manipur Bhavan, located at Rajgarh Road, Guwahati, which was established with high hopes of earning some revenue for the State's exchequer as well as addressing the accommodation problems faced by the people of Manipur while travelling beyond the NE has not only failed to serve its purpose but has been responsible for draining lakhs of Rupees every year from the State Govt for the salaries of the employees employed at the Bhavan.

Talking to The Sangai Express during a recent visit to the Bhavan, an official informed that the Bhavan has been able to earn only about Rs 5000 monthly as rental fees from the three rooms presently rented out to the public.

Except for one or two Govt officials who occasionally put up at the Bhavan during their official visit, the Bhavan has not been able to attract sufficient customers to rake in the revenue.

The official added that the unsuitable location of the Bhavan is one of the main reasons for the lack of customers.

The official also rued that the State Govt has not taken up anything till today regarding the development of the Bhavan despite knowing the fact that hundreds of Manipuris are travelling daily to Guwahati and are being forced to stay in costly hotels due to the deplorable conditions at the Bhavan.

Informing that there are presently 13 Govt officials including employees from the Education Dept presently employed at the Bhavan, the source said that State Govt spends over Rs one lakh for the salaries of the Bhavan employees and another Rs 7000 as rental fees for the building.

Even though four vehicles have been allotted to the Bhavan for official purpose, only two are presently in running condition, added the official.

Answering to a query, the official said that the Bhavan has been able to let out only three rooms to the public despite having a capacity of nine rooms as most of the rooms have been occupied by the Govt officials.

Elaborating on the State Govt's proposal for exchanging the plot bought at Ulubari-Rupanagar for construction of a Manipur Bhavan with the Tripura Bhaban located at Guwahati, the official said that proposal had been cancelled after conducting a thorough survey on the matter.

It may be noted here that the plot measuring 14 katha in area was bought during the regime of the previous Government.

Talking to this reporter, a group of Manipuri residents of Guwahati appealed to the State Government to begin the construction works within the shortest possible time and let the people of Manipur enjoy its benefits.

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