Rainwater appears in Margao court building

Heavy and incessant rains over the last three days caused seepage of rainwater in the Margao Civil and Criminal Court complex building on Tuesday, so much so that water entered the building corridor as well as in a courtroom or two.

Ahead of the monsoon, the roof of the Margao Civil and Criminal Court building, which is considered a heritage building, was covered with plastic sheets to prevent water seepage. Tuesday’s deluge showed that the plastic sheet was not an answer to the issue of water seepage in the building.

The situation has promoted the South Goa Advocates Association to knock on the doors of the South Goa Principal and Sessions Judge, with a plea to undertake urgent repairs to the trial court building.

In the letter, SGAA president Prasad Naik pointed out to the Principal District and Sessions Judge that there are major water leakages in the roof of the Margao Civil and Criminal Court Building.

“On account of such leakage, rainwater seeps inside the corridors and even some of the courtrooms. The water accumulates inside the corridor passages leading to a distressful situation as the passages have become slippery and hazardous. There is an imminent risk of accidental falls. This is a dangerous situation as many senior citizens access these premises throughout the day.”

He added: “The entire roof is in a highly dilapidated condition and it requires urgent repair and maintenance work. There is also a serious possibility of the false ceiling collapsing inside the courtrooms and creating a threat to the advocates and litigants and even members of the judiciary."

The Margao Civil and Criminal Court building had come under the scanner of the advocates and litigants after the building roof was covered with plastic. The PWD had pointed out that though the department had floated a tender to repair the building, there were no takers for the work over the question of non-revision of GSR rates by the government.