Goans repairing tiled roofs of residences ahead of the rains has been the popular pre-monsoon tradition for decades. Labourers take on the job of dusting and scrubbing the dirt and grime off clay tiles and replacing the damaged ones to ensure that there are no water seepages during the monsoon. Surprisingly, a State basking in a rich heritage of architectural designs from historical times is doing precious little to protect its treasurers.
For example, the imposing Margao Municipality, which is nestled majestically in the city's heart, is now being wrapped in plastic to protect it from rain. Built in 1905, the now 118-year-old building with tiled roofing that dates back to the colonial era remains neglected and almost in shambles. The sorry state of affairs is reflected in how authorities undertake an annual ritual of covering the building windows and passages with plastic sheets while completely disregarding the roof, which has been in bad shape for several years. In the last two seasons, the municipality staff placed buckets along leakage points to collect rainwater trickling through the ceiling. As a result, the rooms of the accounts officer and taxation officer have been flooded with water in the past.
Unfortunately, the hesitancy and indecisiveness in maintaining heritage structures are as clear as daylight. A few years back, painting the structure became a subject of controversy after the tendering process was stalled. Worse is that the renovation plan of the building that has been announced around five years back but is yet to see the light of day.
While Goa is boasting about infrastructural development across the State, with the government even contemplating solar rooftops for government offices and replacing traditional clay tiles with solar ones to offset the power supply deficiencies, and bringing in amendments to the laws that simplify reconstruction and renovation of houses, the apathy shown towards historic civic buildings paints a grim picture.
In 2020 the State government announced that it was drafting India's first-ever policy on heritage structures to preserve, conserve and promote them. The government identified 30 structures in the State as world and national heritage, along with another 51 marked as State heritage structures. Dr Varad Sabnis, Assistant Superintending Archaeologist, once said that people's mindsets need to change and that people should feel that heritage is not a burden but a privilege. There is nothing wrong with this thinking, but it has to begin with authorities, and they should set examples of how heritage needs to be respected and preserved.
The MMC building is a classic case of a care-a-damn attitude shown towards heritage, and there are many other instances where historical monuments and sites have not been given the respect and treatment they merit. The construction of a bungalow at the heritage site of Old Goa is one such example.
It's time authorities re-think Goa's heritage and accord top priority to it. The lip service must stop, and instead of passing the buck they need to get work expedited. Students undertaking cleaning up forts and monuments of weeds, bushes and litter is again a testimony of how isolated the issue is. Time and again, people have stood up for heritage and even taken up cudgels against those in power. Heritage festivals are meaningless if there is no regard for the very subject.
