MARGAO
When a portion of the Kala Academy came crashing down on Monday, visitors to the Margao Ravindra Bhavan, including students came across buckets dotting on the first floor of the building outside the conference hall.
Realisation later dawned on the students and the visitors that the buckets have been placed on the floor to collect water from the leaking ceiling, indicating that all is not well with the premiere cultural institution in the commercial capital.
Ravindra Bhavan has been known in local art and culture circles in recent times for all the wrong reasons – a canteen facility shut down for the last three years, air-conditioning system breakdowns, a cover a concealed lamp falling in the conference room, issues relating to sound et al.
The buckets placed on the first floor, sources said, have been done so that the water seepage from the ceiling does not spread on the entire floor.
Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai, who was invited as a chief guest for a function at the conference hall on Monday morning, questioned the state of affairs. “Margao is crumbling. Ravindra Bhavan is part of Fatorda. I don’t want the situation of neighbouring Margao to take place in Fatorda. A portion of the Margao urban health centre collapsed over a week ago. Is anyone held accountable for the sorry state of affairs?” he asked.
The state of affairs of Ravindra Bhavan is expected to come into focus at the two-day maintenance scheduled on July 18-19, wherein newly-appointed chairman Rajendra Talak is expected to insist on top priority for the upkeep of the institution.
The chairman is expected to have interactive sessions with various groups using the facility, including tiatrists, to find out from them what needs to be done.
The interaction session has been planned on July 18 before the newly-constituted governing Council holds its first meeting later this week.
