MARGAO
Margao, the commercial capital of Goa, is known for its bustling trade and commerce. The city is also known as the cultural capital of the state and plays host to many Portuguese-era heritage structures and buildings. A drive along the city would take one on a journey though the city’s past, but it also brings to the fore the host of old and dilapidated buildings and structures dotting the kilometre-long stretch, right from the entrance to the commercial capital at Old market to the Margao Municipal square.
Visitors and locals alike may be baffled and left to wonder about the reasons behind the dilapidated state of these structures when these building have immense historical importance and heritage value, but allowed to decay over the years.
Name them, and topping the list of heritage structures in ruins is the Municipal Camara de Salcete building, right at the entrance to the city at Old market. This building, literally invaded by creepers and vegetation, was the seat of Municipal power during the Portuguese-era before the Municipal building was shifted to the imposing structure at the Municipal garden square over a century ago.
And, as one exits the city towards down South, one would come across the ancestral house of the great Goan nationalist, Dr Francisco Luis Gomes, at Colmorod-Navelim, with the walls crumbling down every monsoon for want of upkeep and maintenance.
Take note, both the Municipal Camara de Salcete building and the ancestral house of Dr Francisco Luis Gomes are presently owned by private individuals. Successive governments seemed to have only paid lip service to the attempt made a decade and half ago to acquire these two structures and protect them as heritage and historical buildings for posterity.
Old Hospicio
heritage building
As one crosses the Holy Spirit Church square towards the city, one would come across two old and imposing buildings – the over 150-year old Hospicio building, where Padre Miranda had started the hospital in the year 1867 to cater to the health requirements of the city.
Post-shifting of the Hospicio to the new South Goa district hospital building three years ago, the old Hospicio building has been craving for attention. Since the shifting, the roof tiles of the heritage building has not been replaced or re-set. And, neither has the government put the magnificent building to productive use.
The old building is presently playing host for the makeshift health centre. Public spirited citizens have been demanding hand over of the heritage hospicio to Caritas to run health facilities to follow the rich tradition left behind by Padre Miranda.
That’s not all. Plans to convert the heritage building into a museum have failed to materialize till date. Only recently, the government has unveiled plans to set up a nursing college in the Hospicio building.
Margao Urban Health
Centre building
That the government pays lip service to conservation of heritage building is evident by the state of the Margao Urban Health Centre building. Consider this. A portion of the facade of the building came crashing down exactly a year ago. A look at the building would reveal that it is still covered with plastic sheets. No doubt, work had begun to repair and restore the damaged portion of the structure at an estimated cost of Rs 13 lakh, but the fact that the work is still incomplete and may take a couple of more months to complete, only goes to show the apathy of the administration towards heritage structures.
Margao Municipal
building
Of all the heritage structures dotting the city, the 119-year-old Margao Municipal building plays host to the day-to-day functioning of the Municipal body. The last time the Portuguese-era building underwent major repairs was around two decades ago ahead of the celebrations to mark the centenary year of the structure. Leave alone repairs, the imposing building is yet to get a fresh coat of paint from the powers that be till date.
A glance at the imposing building would reveal that plastic sheets hanging on the windows to prevent water seepage into the corridors. This is just the tip of the iceberg, official say, admitting that the building is craving for major repairs and maintenance.
Sadly, a proposal to restore the heritage building to its pristine glory is awaiting administrative and financial approvals over the last two years.
Administrator of
Comunidade building
When the Government College of Engineering gave a structural stability report on the health of the South Goa Administrator of Comunidade building, hopes were raised that the imposing structure at the Margao Municipal square would get a fresh lease of life. Nearly half-a-decade down the line, the ground reality at the building has not changed for the better. On the contrary, the condition of the building has been found deteriorating for want of upkeep and maintenance.
The components of Comunidades say they are willing and ready to take up the repair work, but has charged the government for floating a tender for repair and renovation of the building without taking the components into confidence. The fate of the over Rs three crore tender also remains unknown after the proposal received a lone bidder. The Comunidade building remains shut and no one has any idea the state of the comunidade documents, including land records, with water seepage into the building rampant during monsoons.
