Imphal, May 26: They may be well versed in matters concerning law and have a role in legally bailing out the distressed but the same cannot be said of their own safety apparatuses.

This is the sorry state of working conditions of staffers of old District and Sessions Court, Uripok also known to many as Cheirap court.

For reasons best known to the Govt these employees have to work under dilapidated roof -which can crumble any moment - over their head.

Not to speak of the roof, walls and cracking floor, even the furniture are worn out and the condition worsens even more with the onset of monsoon season.

The structure of the Cheirap Court was constructed during the reign of Churachand Maharaj.

When The Sangai Express surveyed the office building and working condition there, the staff engaged at the law court could be seen clearing rain water that had seeped through most portion of the roof and walls rather than scour through the heavy volume of legal editions and references.

�This is our additional work and we are compelled to do so because the roof can no longer keep out the rain,� echoed some of the disgruntled employees and hastened to convey that repeated intimation to the Government to take up repairing works remain unfilled.

Even though initial repairing works started in April this year the repairing activities ceased before completion without assigning any valid reason for the discontinuation, the employees complained.

Listing the official intimations aired to the subsequent Governments, the employees contended that former Session Judge, Manipur West, Max Phazang had on December 4, 2001 urged the Executive Engineer, Building No 1, PWD to initiate necessary processes for renovation of the over 100 year old structure.

Even as the intimation failed to evoke any positive response and the building conditions worsened inconveniencing the employees, the same Judge on April 27, 2004 appraised the Chief Engineer to conduct immediate repairing work, again without any concrete response.

The employees also informed of the current Judge Th Surbala Devi making similar appeal to the Chief Engineer on April 12 this year insisting that the PWD assign some one to conduct spot assessment of the building condition and take necessary measures at the earliest.

While the building is at the mercy of the PWD nature taking its own course had resulted in ceaseless leakage thereby posing great danger to preservation of important records including hand-written documents.

Leaving aside the lack of initiative in repairing the building non-supply of almirahs of proper document storage shelves had caused severe headaches to the employees on how to protect the documents, they highlighted.

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