the goan I network
MARGAO
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is not new to the ills plaguing the cultural institution. After he returned to the CM’s saddle post-2012 Assembly election, Parrikar had favoured a vigilance probe into the renovation works executed by the Digambar Kamat regime ahead of the inauguration of the 2011 IFFI festival at the Ravindra Bhavan.
That’s not all. The Ravindra Bhavan is located right behind Vijay Sardesai’s backyard in Fatorda constituency and all eyes will be certainly focused on the TCP Minister and his agenda for the cultural institution.
That all is not well on the repair and maintenance front at the Ravindra Bhavan is that the Member Secretaries have knocked the doors of the PWD to take up the repair and maintenance works at the cultural institution.
Couple of day ago, Ravindra Bhavan Member Secretary Y B Tawde dashed off a letter to the PWD, seeking urgent attention to the civil works, including repairs of the dislocated pavers, plugging the wide cracks in the building walls, plastering, repairs to the green room, etc. “I had dispatched correspondence to the PWD, seeking action in respect of the repair and maintenance of the works at the Ravindra Bhavan with the monsoons round the corner,” Tawde told The Goan.
Late last year, Tawde’s predecessor Ajit Panchwadkar had made a similar representation, sending an SOS to the parent Art and Culture department, saying any delay in carrying out urgent repairs to the building may even result in a tragedy.
A visit to the Ravindra Bhavan from gate No 2 on the front side of the complex reveals the apathy and indifference meted out to the cultural institute over the last five years. Iron rods lie exposed right at the entrance gate, posing danger to motorists and vehicles.
No doubt, outgoing Ravindra Bhavan Chairman Damu Naik and the TCP Minister’s bitter political enemy had taken up repairs and replacement of the dislocated pavers on the west side of the complex. Sadly, neither the Art and Culture department nor the PWD thought it fit to repair the pavers, right from the rear gate to the entrance of the building.
Incidentally, while the authorities have been found wanting in carrying repair and maintenance works, the fate of the state-of-the-art Audio Studio built at the Ravindra Bhavan remains unknown. Files pertaining to the Audio Studio project were forwarded to the Vigilance department following complaints over the alleged discrepancies in the tendering process. Half-a-decade later, the Audio Studio is yet to see the light of day and neither is the fate of the Vigilance probe into the project known till date, blocking funds sanctioned for the project.
