MAPUSA
The Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) on Wednesday decided to junk its earlier decision to hand over the old municipal council building to the Department of Art and Culture and instead get it repaired through the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA).
MMC Chairperson Shubanghi Vaigankar informed that the new council wanted to retain the premises with the civic body, instead of handing it over to another department.
“The building belongs to the civic body. If we hand it over to the art and culture department then the council will not have any say on the premises,” Vaigankar said.
“We need to start the library in the building. A lot of people in town have had to go without the reading facility for the last two years,” she added.
The chairperson informed that the building was a heritage structure and therefore only restoration work will be taken up keeping the outside façade intact.
She said part of the structure has collapsed on the backside and therefore work for repair and restoration of the building has to be taken up on top priority.
Councillor Prakash Bhivshet appealed to the council that the name ‘Athaide library’ has a historic significance and it should be retained.
Councillor Kamal D’Souza stressed that the building lacked a parking facility and some provision has to be made for parking in the area.
Interestingly, two years back MMC had unanimously decided to hand over the old municipal council building to the Department of Art and Culture free of rent to set up a district library.
The decision to hand over the premises to the Art and Culture department was taken in June 2019 so that the department will be able to restore and maintain the dilapidated building.
The building was later shut for public use as it was in a dilapidated condition.
The engineering department in a note has said the building was required to be restored and renovated on an urgent basis in order to prevent it from further deterioration.
The building is more than 100 years old, having archaeological features and importance as the same was constructed during Portuguese regime.
