PANAJI
In yet another embarrassment for the Goa government regarding the Kala Academy, audience of the ticketed Marathi play at the Dinanath Mangueshkar Auditorium on Sunday were left uncomfortable and upset due to a malfunctioning air conditioning system.
This is the second incident within a week’s time. Last Sunday, the lighting malfunction interrupted the Marathi play Purush for approximately 15 minutes prompting lead actors to apologise to the audience during the unexpected pause.
This time, the incident took place during Marathi actor Bharat Jadhav’s play Shrimant Damodar Pant. According to the audience, the play start was delayed due to malfunctioning of the air conditioning system.
“After the so-called repair, the AC began functioning and the play started as well. However, there was hardly any proper cooling. The audience was clearly uncomfortable and many even walked out halfway through the show," said one audience member.
Despite attempts, Kala Academy member secretary Arvind Khutkar remained unavailable for comments.
The extensive renovation and strengthening of Kala Academy was in progress from 2021 before it was thrown open to the public in November 2023.
A whopping amount of over Rs 60 crore was spent on the renovation, which is marred with controversies. Thereafter in June, last year, another Rs 10.56 crore was allotted to PWD to undertake further repair work of the renovated structure.
