NESHWIN ALMEIDA

[email protected]

While the Margao Municipality readies itself for a funding of Rs 11 crores hoping to use that amount to acquire the Old Municipality it has many hurdles ahead including acquisition, tenancy and restoration.

“Our focus is to primarily settle the tenants in that space including the coffin makers and then start restoration from scratch besides creating a heritage town centre at the Old Municipal Market which includes clearing up matka and gambling agents who currently occupy that structure,” explains ward number 10 councillor Glen Andrade who’s spearheading the renovation and acquisition of the Old Municipal property.

“Basically the government owns a lot of heritage structures including Hospicio, the Senatorium or rather the TB Hospital on the Monte and the Old Age Home which is still functional. These structures were taken over by the Portuguese administration from trustees and were earlier catholic run institutions but the nothing has been done to maintain these structures. Even the current municipality itself is nowhere close to restored in its past glory,” explains Jose Maria Miranda from Borda.

Historian Valmiki Faleiro, who has documented Old Portuguese homes and heritage structures across Margao, explains that some of the first structures around Margao are the old Multipurpose College besides the Church which is a concrete structure and also the Comunidade building which is presently in shambles.

“Most government heritage buildings have mostly made way for new structures like the taluka revenue office previously where the Old Collectorate was set up in the 1980s while the old Police Barracks made way for the South Goa District Headquarters while the old jail converted into the Civil Court is renovated many times but the government has done little to maintain structures but rather made way for newer structures,” exclaims Valmiki Faleiro who also ascertains that Margao being a commercial capital has lesser heritage structures which are government owned compared to Panjim.

Margao MLA Digambar Kamat feels that he’s clueless on what’s the way forward to maintain, renovate and maintain these structures. “I have proposed the Hospicio to be converted into a museum after the hospital shifts but again when these buildings are in service right now and being utilised and maintenance seems to be an issue.”

“A building needs to be listed as heritage by the local governing body or municipality and then is funded and maintained. GSIDC under my helms restored the Old Secretariat, Old Asilo Hospital in Mapusa and many more projects. We do tie up with international architects to restore heritage structures but the first step needs to be taken by the local municipality,” stated Sanjit Rodrigues, a well government officer under whose helm the GSIDC restored many heritage structures in Panjim and Mapusa.

Historian Sanjeev Sardessai asserted that blaming the government is not the way forward but every town needs heritage cells of locals that work and help in maintaining heritage structures instead of just blaming the government for not doing anything.