Team Herald
MARGAO: There was yet another incident in Margao where the gallery portion of the Antao building near Cine Lata came crashing down on Saturday early morning.
On Friday, a portion of a parapet on the upper floor of an old building near Pimpalkatta, along the road leading to Gandhi Market in Margao, gave way on Friday.
Unlike the Friday incident where vehicles were damaged, no such vehicles were damaged but locals felt that it was luck that the incident took place early in the morning otherwise, if it was during the day, it could have fallen on any one passing by as that is a busy street.
Vivek Naik from Margao, urged the authorities to look into such issues thoroughly so that public safety is not compromised in view of the back-to-back incidents.
Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) Convenor Savio Coutinho also questioned if real estate developers were eyeing such lands and waiting for it to fall so that they could carry out redevelopment t the area.
As soon as the incident occurred, authorities rushed to the site
Soon afterwards, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat who also inspected the site, stated that instructions were given to the South Goa District Collector to appoint a good contractor having the right equipment to remove the unsafe portions of this building so that there is no further harm to the public. The MLA added that MMC or fire brigade do not have the tools or manpower for such operations and thus this would be a better approach.
Kamat also shot back at critics and said ultimately it is the owner of such private buildings who should be held responsible for the maintenance of these old buildings. He added that if the buildings were maintained regularly, such incidents would not occur.
"The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) or the MLA cannot be blamed for such things as there are processes involved in taking action against such buildings. There are also the legal aspects of what happens to the tenants or if the owner goes to the court to prevent the demolition of the building," he said.
While acknowledging that MMC had carried out a survey of unsafe buildings, Kamat said that he will soon speak to the Chief Minister about this issue as he felt there is a need for a pan-Goa policy for taking action on unsafe buildings. He said such a policy should make clear the legal proceedings as well and who takes care of the demolition.