A Grama Sachivalayam office was locked up by the owner of the building over non-payment of rent in Kadapa district on Thursday.
The village secretariat building in Gudemcheruvu village of Jammalamadugu mandal in Kadapa district, was locked up by the landlady, identified as Gurramma, who said she did not receive the monthly rent of ₹5,000 for the past ten months.
Finding it difficult to make ends meet thanks to the mounting rental dues, the woman locked the gate of the building and accused the local officials of not heeding her repeated reminders to pay the rent on time. She said she had even warned them that she would lock up the office if the dues were not paid. She followed up on her warning after officials ignored her reminders, she said.
The village secretariat staff, who turned up to work on Thursday morning, reportedly returned home after waiting for some time.
When contacted by The Hindu, Collector V. Vijayarama Raju said that the issue occurred due to a ‘communication gap’ as the village secretariat was shifted from a school to the building following a court order. He said that the issue is being sorted out.
