SHILLONG, April 8: The services at all Meghalaya Houses have not been commensurate with the steep hike in room rent.
Last year, the state Cabinet had revised the rent at Meghalaya Houses in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Vellore and Guwahati from Rs 300 to Rs 1,050 per room per day in view of the increase in maintenance cost, higher electricity bills and others.
The Meghalaya House at Russell Street in Kolkata was inaugurated in 2015 in a grand manner by the then Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma but since then, the government has not taken any steps to provide decent services there.
The rooms here are not being maintained at all. While the employees seem to be ready to work, they lament the lack of support from the state government.
This scribe, who recently visited the government’s Kolkata property, found that the mattresses and pillows were dirty and stained. The TV was non-functional as the set-top boxes in the rooms were not recharged.
In addition, there was no arrangement for toiletry – there was not even soap – and the toilet walls were also dirty.
A similar situation exists in the Kasba Meghalaya House, the second such facility in Kolkata. The management claimed everything functioned well in the facility prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic last year.
The employees lamented that the state government stopped paying attention to their plight ever since the outbreak of the disease. They claimed some employees had to work even on their off days but were not paid any extra honorarium. Some retired employees continue to be employed on contractual basis and are lodged in two staff quarters.
Some room-bearers complained that they were forced to wash the utensils of the VIPs from Meghalaya although it was not a part of their job.
