MARGAO
After a slab of the old Bank of Baroda building collapsed on Friday noon, Margao MLA Digamber Kamat was quick to issue instructions to the authorities to get the Goa College of Engineering to conduct a structural stability test report of the ill-fated building.
But, will a structural stability test in any way bring about a change in the status of the old and dangerous buildings dotting the commercial capital?
The answer is a firm no. Reason: A structural stability certificate issued by the Goa College of Engineering way back in 2018 declaring a building as unsafe is yet to be pulled down by the Margao Municipal council or by the demolition squard.
That’s not all. A footwear establishment is operating from the ground floor of the unsafe building in defiance of the directions of the South Goa district Disaster Management Authority to the Margao Municipal Council to raze down the unsafe building.
When The Goan asked Margao Civic Chief Damu Shirodkar to shed light on the status of the declared unsafe by the Goa College of Engineering in 2018 where a footwear business is carried out since last 2023, he was quick to point out that the civic body has withdrawn the licence issued to the establishment.
He, however, had no answer when his attention was drawn to the business activity going unabated in the unsafe building right under the nose of the Municipal authorities.
Questions, however, remain unanswered as to which agency is liable to shut down the establishment operating without the mandatory trade licence. Is not the responsibility of the civic body to shut the establishment carried out in the unsafe building in the interest of public safety and security? Or, is it the responsibility of the Disaster Management Authority headed by the district Collector to seal the unsafe building?
Take note that just because none of the authorities, including the Margao Municipal Council, the Disaster Management Authority and the Demolition squad had acted on the district Collector’s directions to raze down the unsafe building, a citizen Collin Coelho has knocked the doors of the High Court seeking justice.
This will only bring forth the moot question --- if a building declared unsafe by the Goa College of Engineering in 2018 is playing host to business activity, will the MMC or any other authority initiate action against the two buildings which came under the public scanner last week in the event they too are declared unsafe in the coming days.
