A bomb reportedly exploded by the Portuguese at the southern wing of the Mormugao Municipal Council building in 1961 could not damage the formidable structure.
Fast forward ~ a little over five decades later and you wouldn’t need a bomb to bring down the building: simply allow the building to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance.
This is exactly the pitiable situation of the MMC building, which is largely neglected due to lack of coordination between elected representative and government agencies.
Constructed by the Portuguese in 1941, the Camara de Municipal de Mormugao was renamed as the Mormugao Municipal Council building in 1971.
“During the Portuguese rule, the Camara de Municipal de Mormugao used to wield its influence over much of South Goa. Unfortunately, this historic building now lies in a dilapidated condition over the years simply because authorities have failed to pay attention to the weakened MMC building,” said a source in the MMC.
“The only minor work undertaken was during the tenure of former chief officer N D Agrawal, when broken balcony grills were repaired and some electrical fixtures were changed,” the source added.
“During the Liberation struggle in 1961, the Portuguese had planted a bomb in a dustbin near the deputy collector’s office, which is housed in the southern wing of the MMC building.”
“Although the bomb went off, it could not do much damage to the solid structure. But due to lack of maintenance over the years, the MMC building now lies in dilapidated condition.”
“Earlier, the building would be painted twice a year. But since the past several years, even the painting has been stopped,” the source added.
Following his election as Vasco MLA, Carlos Almeida decided to renovate and paint the building through the Goa State Urban Development Authority (GSUDA). However, there has been little progress since then.
When contacted, Almeida confirmed that the proposal had been sent to GSUDA. “The proposal was approved by them and they even appointed a consultant. The consultant had drawn plans and placed them before the council. Meetings were convened between the consultant, GSUDA members and the councillors.”
“Everything was finalized and I had suggested shifting of the administrative office, office of the chairperson, chief officer and other offices to the comunidade building at Mangore during the renovation work. I played my role as MLA and now, it’s up to the council to follow up on these procedures,” said Almeida.
When contacted, outgoing MMC chairperson Sumita Usgaokar sought to blame the consultant for the delay in renovating the MMC building.
“The files were handed over to the consultant. The consultant had some meetings with council members and due to the Election Code of Conduct, there was a temporary gap. After that, the consultant has failed to follow up in the matter,” said Usgaokar.
Speaking to Herald, MMC Vice Chairman Saifulla Khan said, “Almeida had promised to provide funds from GSUDA for the renovation and painting of the building. But till date, the council has not received funds from GSUDA.”
“As far as painting of the building is concerned, I had requested a local industrialist to paint the building before I could be elected the MMC vice-chairman. The local industrialist had agreed to my request.”
“I will renew my request to the industrialist to paint the building before the next Vasco Saptah. At the same time, I will follow up on the renovation work with Almeida and GSUDA,” said Khan.
When contacted, MMC Chief Officer Y B Tavde insisted that the process to renovate and paint the building is in progress. It got delayed due to the Election Code of Conduct at the time. “Though a place has been identified to temporarily shift all offices of the municipal building, plans have been kept on hold as the council is not sure who will foot the rent to house the offices in the new premises,” said Tavde added.
