PANAJI
The collective of artistes "Kala Rakhonn Mandd" on Tuesday protested in front of the iconic Kala Academy complex to kick start their State-wide protest to seek accountability over the controversial repairs and restore the art and cultural space to its former glory.
The recently formed group also submitted a petition to the Tiswadi mamlatdar demanding that a white paper be presented on the entire repair project.
The Mandd's convener Devidas Amonkar, himself a stage-artiste told the media that their movement will be peceful.
He said the agitation has now begun and in the days to come they will attempt to meet Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude to place the same demand of a white paper on the entire project.
"We will raise questions and we expect a reply from those holding office," he said.
Poor lighting at the KA's auditorium was raised by artiste and YouTuber Rajdeep Naik, saying audiences complain that faces of the actors are often not visible.
Naik who stirred the hornet's nest on the issue of substandard work with his complaint of "poor acoustics" during a live performance of his play 'Ganv zalla zanto' said that poor lighting was the reason why actors' faces are not clearly visible to the audience.
Naik also said that curtains that used to operate automatically are now being operated manually.
The controversial renovation of Kala Academy had begun soon after Covid hit in 2021. It was reopened to the public in November.
Gaude first came in the cross-hairs of the Charles Correa Foundation which alleged that the unplanned and haphazard project could potentially alter several architectural and interior design aspects of the original structure.
The political Opposition also often took Gaude to task over the KA's renovation particularly over the contract being allocated without a tendering process.
More recently, the controversy re-ignited when a bout of rain led to leakages at several vantage points after the venue was thrown open to the public. A false ceiling also collapsed in another section leading to a series of allegations of sub-standard work.
