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Facelift delayed, in overdrive

Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN | Jan 17, 2012, 01.30AM

CHENNAI: The renovation of Ripon Building, supposed to end by March this year, is only 45 per cent complete. Officials now say it is likely to be completed only by the end of December and cite relocation of staff and restrictions on building materials as the main reasons for the delay.

With the renovation on the western wing of the headquarters of the Corporation of Chennai likely to take another three months to be completed, officers in the eastern wing will now have to bear water seepage, peeling wall paint and a foul stench for a while longer. Members of the external monitoring committee, however, say they are satisfied with the speed and quality of the work.

The security guards at Ripon Building try to spend as much time outside as possible. "The minute you enter either of these rooms, you will be overwhelmed by a terrible smell," said a corporation sergeant."Water from a first floor bathroom sometimes drips on your head.The stink is terrible so we cannot even sit inside. Sometimes you can actually see a pool of water by a corner by evening." Water seepage is worst in the sergeants' room, leading to the lime plastering peeling off the walls exposing bricks.