MARGAO
Will the heritage Camara Municipal de Salcete building lying in ruins over the decades for want of upkeep and maintenance meet the same fate as that of the ancestral house of nationalist Dr Francisco Luis Gomes?
The building was the municipal seat of power over a century ago before the municipality was shifted to the existing building around 120 years ago. Since then, the heritage building has been craving attention with heritage lovers and conservationists strongly rooting for the restoration of the heritage building for posterity.
A casual glance at the building located right at the entrance to the city at Old Market would reveal that the old structure is lying in ruins. Vegetation and creepers have invaded the building even as the walls show signs of crumbling.
When the Margao Municipality and the Disaster Management department had planned to raze down the building citing danger to life and property, heritage lovers led by historian Prof Prajal Sakhandande stalled the move, insisting on the conservation of the heritage structure.
Exactly around a decade and a half ago, the Margao Municipal Council adopted a resolution calling for the acquisition of the properties housing the Camara de Salcete building and the ancestral house of Dr Francisco Luis Gomes to convert them into museums. The land acquisition process, however, hit a roadblock for want of funds as well as a lack of interest by the powers that be to restore these heritage structures.
Says then MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho, “The resolutions adopted by the civic body during my stint as Chairperson was sabotaged by the powers that be after my departure. The process was not taken to the logical conclusion for reasons best known to them.”
Hopes of restoring the Municipal Camara de Salcete building were again raised around 2017 when Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who was then the Minister for Archives and Archaeology, revived a proposal to acquire the property. Even the Margao Municipal Council had earmarked funds of Rs two crore for the acquisition of the property. The proposal, however, did not move forward after the owner refused to part with the property.
