‘Goa’s Taj Mahal crumbling’: Netizens attack govt after portion of Kala Academy's false ceiling collapses

Panaji, April 22 (IANS) The BJP government in Goa and Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude have drawn flak again after a portion of the false ceiling of the renovated Kala Academy building collapsed.

In December 2023, the mirror in the green room had collapsed a month after it was reopened. Before that on July 17, 2023, the roof of the open auditorium of the Kala Academy had collapsed.

As a series of such incidents have taken place in the Academy, netizens along with the opposition parties have termed the incidents as ‘Goa’s Taj Mahal’ crumbling.

BJP state president Sadanand Tanavade, speaking to reporters, said that an inquiry into the incident will be initiated by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. “I am aware of this incident and I am told by the Chief Minister that an inquiry will be initiated,” Tanavade said.

Reacting to the incident, the Goa Forward Party said “This is a trailer. The collapse of the ceiling at the prestigious Kala Academy at the first sign of rain is not only a warning of what could happen in the monsoons but also proof of this monstrously corrupt BJP government's total disregard for Goan lives,”

Congress media chairman Amarnath Panajikar said “Shah Jahan's Goa Taj Mahal is crumbling. Sub standard false ceilings' are falling on the ground. In December, the mirror of the green room had collapsed and chairs were broken. On July 17, 2023, the roof of the open auditorium of Kala Academy collapsed,”

Designed by architect Charles Correa and started in 1970, the Kala Academy has emerged as the premier art and culture centre of the coastal state.

The Goa government had come under attack for allegedly carrying out renovation work at Kala Academy costing Rs 49 crore without floating a tender, which was against the CPWD manual. It took almost three years to finish the renovation work.

However, defending the state government's move to nominate a contractor for the renovation work without floating a tender, Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude had said that even Shah Jahan did not invite quotations for building the Taj Mahal.

"The Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1653. You know why it is still so beautiful and everlasting? Because Shah Jahan never invited quotations to build it. That is why the Taj Mahal is intact even after 400 years,” Gaude had said.

According to the opposition parties, the Kala Academy was built 50 years ago for Rs 4 crore, and now more than Rs 49 crore have been spent to repair it.

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