The once iconic Goa Kala Academy has been in the eye of a storm since the past year or more and ever since the work of renovation was undertaken with the blessings of Arts and Culture Minister Govind Gaude. Unfortunately, things did not turn out well as planned, as concrete slabs and false ceilings started to collapse , and there was leakage in parts of the building and auditorium. Even the lighting and acoustics of the main theatre were found to be defective and of substandard quality. Several inspection visits were undertaken by the govt and PWD officials, but have failed to pinpoint blame for the shoddy works undertaken. And now, some prominent artistes have also expressed great displeasure and condemned the renovation work as substandard and a 'financial and cultural fraud'. It appears that this once iconic structure has reached the terminal stage with multi-organ failure, and therefore needs to be resurrected in the same place to restore the lost pride of Goa. It is hoped the Goa govt takes up the restoration matter on a war footing to save some more crores of rupees from going down the drain.
