Delay for new collectorate unit

KOCHI: The new annexe of the Collectorate which was completed an year ago is yet to see the light of the day as the authorities have once again given it the cold shoulder. The authorities concerned are citing unfinished flooring and lack of other facilities as the main reasons for the delay of the opening of the new unit.On the contrary, sources say that the delay in the sanctioning of the power connection to the new building is the main reason that has thwarted the functioning of the B1 block. The transformer that was installed to meet the electricity requirements of the existing Collectorate is already overloaded. Hence it was not possible to use it for the energy requirements of the new building.“We are also facing the problem of operating the lift. A minimum of 380 volt is required to operate the lift in the old block, especially the A3 block. But the lift operators are forced to operate it with 350-360 volt, which is highly risky,” sources said.“Tripping of power supply has become quite frequent nowadays. A few days back the transformer caught fire due to overload. The existing transformer was connected  before the computers were installed at the Collectorate,” sources said.The KSEB had suggested that they would issue the connection to the new building only if a proper arrangement is made to install another transformer that will serve the purpose. According to the planning board officials, nearly 4 crores have been spent to build these blocks. It is quite certain that the funds will go amiss if adequate steps are not taken.When asked about it, a senior official said -“The work was held up owing to the elections as we could not release the revised estimate. The work is going on in full swing and will be completed at the earliest.”The work on the new block began a year ago and as per the instructions from the KSEB, a space has been allotted to install a separate power station that could also meet the growing demands of the power supply in the B2 block. Only its speedy completion can resume the functioning of the B2 block.