Deekshith D V
Pics: Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, May 20: It is a desolate sight at Town Hall, one of city’s landmark heritage buildings and center for cultural, social, and political activities. Town Hall has been closed for the past eight months in the name of renovation, which has left artistes and art lovers in the lurch. To their dismay and that of scores of others, it seems likely that the Town Hall will not host any event for still some time to come.
Former mayor Mahabala Maarla and the renovation committee had decided to renovate the Town Hall before its golden jubilee on December 26, 2014. Unfortunately, the Nirmithi Kendra which took a contract to complete the civil work for an outlay of Rs 99.5 lac and started the work, later halted the work claiming there were no technical experts to finish the acoustics, green room, and stage.
Speaking to Daijiworld, Rajendra Kalbhavi, engineer, Nirmithi Kendra, said, "Approximately work amounting to Rs 40 lac has been undertaken on Town Hall. We have started work like flooring, green room, and VIP rooms, but it is not fully completed. Despite the civil work there is technical work like stage, electrification, green room and acoustics. As we have no technical experts to see to these aspects, we have halted the work and after the second phase tender, we will join hands with contractors and complete the work."
The existing 1008 chairs have been removed and dumped in the verandah of the Town Hall. The works inside the hall are incomplete while the premises have been dumped with hoardings and banners from the city. The condition of the heritage building is beyond pathetic.
When Daijiworld contacted mayor Jacintha Alfred over the phone, she said, "It cannot be said when the work will be completed. The proposal of Rs 2.5 lac has already been sent to the Urban Development Board for approval. As soon as we get the approval, we will start the tender process. As soon as the tender work is completed, we can give a date by when the work will be completed.
"We will get the nod for the proposal from the UDB and this work will be finished very soon," she assured.