Makeshift structure at Campal may cost Rs 3 crore
KEN RODRIGUES
OLD GOA: Doubts over the completion of the indoor stadium for the Lusofonia Games at Bambolim by November has prompted the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) and the State government to backtrack on plans to hold the opening and closing ceremonies of the forthcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Bambolim.
The original plan, which would have saved the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) valuable funds, has now been discarded and the ESG will now have to shell out an estimated Rs 3 crore to stage both ceremonies in a makeshift structure on Campal grounds, similar to the one last year.
Despite Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s assurance that the indoor stadium at Bambolim would be completed by November 5, the DFF felt that the safer option would be to hold the two ceremonies at Campal grounds, ESG Vice Chairman and St Andre MLA Vishnu Wagh told Herald.
It may be recalled that the State government had recently announced that the opening and closing ceremonies for the IFFI would be staged at the newly constructed indoor stadium at Bambolim, which is being constructed to host some events of the Lusofonia Games in January 2014.
While the IFFI will be organised from November 20 to November 30, the international sporting event is scheduled from January 18 to January 29.
Last year, the State government had installed a special air-conditioned structure at the Dayanand Bandodkar football stadium in Campal, for the opening and closing ceremonies of the IFFI. The government had decided to erect a special facility at the old football stadium, since the Kala Academy ~ the regular venue for the IFFI opening and closing ceremonies ~ has a limited capacity of around 965 seats.
The Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation is in charge of the construction of the temporary structure to accommodate about 2,700 people and it is being erected by a Delhi-based company at the cost of Rs 1.23 crore.
Speaking exclusively to Herald, Wagh said: “The DFF has taken a decision, which is also agreeable to the State administration, to hold both the opening and closing ceremonies of IFFI 2013 at the Campal football grounds like last year”.
“Initially, it was decided to hold both events at the proposed indoor stadium at Bambolim. This plan was suggested to avoid spending huge amounts of money on temporary structures”.
“Last year, the initial cost to build the structure for the opening and closing ceremonies of IFFI 2012 at the Campal football grounds was Rs 1.8 crore and the figure rose to around Rs 3 crore with other additional costs”.
“The DFF committee had visited the Bambolim site on two occasions and I think they were not convinced that the indoor stadium at Bambolim would be completed well ahead of the IFFI 2013”.
“The DFF was not satisfied with the present pace of work at the indoor stadium in Bambolim, even though Parrikar had assured them that the indoor stadium at Bambolim would be completed by November 5. Besides, our chief secretary and information secretary were also not so sure that the stadium would be completed well ahead of the IFFI 2013,” Wagh added.
“In view of this, the DFF has informed the ESG that arrangements should be made for a structure at the Campal football ground to have the opening and closing ceremonies of IFFI 2013 at the same venue as last year”.
“The only difference is, the structure last year had big columns on both sides and they obstructed the view. The DFF has told us to ensure there are no columns this time,” said Wagh.
“Since the indoor stadium may not be ready before the IFFI 2013, we will have to shell out Rs 3 crore for the temporary structure and this will put added pressure on the ESG, especially since the financial status of the State is not good at the moment,” he added.
