Stressed at work? Don't crib; People have to wear helmets in a Bihar govt office

It may sound a little strange but the dilapidated condition of a Bihar government office building has compelled its employees to wear helmets during office hours. Not only the employees but people visiting the bloc office of Areraj, in the state’s east Champaran district, also prefer to cover their heads before entering the premises. Lalan and Parvej Ahmad, both working in the land records department of the office, recounted how many staff members have got injured because of pieces of concrete falling from the roof. [caption id=“attachment_3809485” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Images procured by the author[/caption] “This is quite an old building. Walls and roof of the building are in a very bad shape. Water starts trickling in the moment rains start. The roof can cave in any day. Since we can’t afford to be absent from our duties so, we all decided to wear helmets,” the employees said. The building construction department of the Bihar government had declared this office dangerous last year. Regardless, senior officers have not been able to identify a place for a new office or taken a decision to shift the employees to another building. People from almost 20 villages visit this bloc office for getting land records, birth and death certificates and for submitting applications to get benefits of government run welfare schemes.​