TIRUCHY: Three persons, including a VAO, were injured after the roof of the village office collapsed in Thanjavur on Tuesday.

It is said that the office building of VAO of Thenpathi village near Neivasal in Orathanadu in Thanjavur was constructed in 2001, and it was damaged due to ageing. There was a demand for renovation of the office, but the demand went unheard for the past 24 years.

Against such a backdrop on Tuesday, while Thalaimangalam VAO Natarajan (36), who was in charge of Thenpathi village, was in the office, and P Balasundram (73) and M Pandian (55) from Neivasal village came to the office to obtain Chitta from the VAO.

While the officials were involved in the work, the roof of the building collapsed, in which Balasundram, Pandian and the VAO Natarajan were injured. On seeing this, the public rescued the trio and rushed them to the Government Hospital.

On information, Orathanadu Tahsildhar Yuvaraj rushed to the spot and visited the injured persons. While the VAO Natarajan was discharged after treatment, Pandian and Balasundaram were undergoing treatment.

“A recommendation to replace as many as 325 VAO offices from Thanjavur district was sent to the State government, and we are yet to receive the order. Among the 324 offices, several of them are functioning temporarily at Anganwadi centres and Panchayat offices”, revenue officials said.