Team Herald
PANJIM: The Kala Academy including the Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir auditorium will not be available for the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which begins from November 20.
Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude has said that the work of renovating the Kala Academy building would be completed only by December 8, and that the auditorium will not be available for this year’s IFFI.
Speaking to reporters, he said that most of the ongoing works of restoration and retro-fitting requires lot of time to complete unlike the new works. “Since it is a old structure, there has to be proper alignment and fine-tuning and the PWD cannot rush up with the work,” he added.
Responding to a question about the auditorium, he said that it will not be available for screening films during IFFI. “We had already informed Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) that it is not possible to make available the Kala Academy auditorium for screening films during film festival and not to rely on us.”
The State cabinet had awarded the works on nomination basis to M/s Techton Buildcons Private Limited to undertake structural repairs and renovation works including water proofing work, electrical work, HVAC external drainage work allied with civil works at a total cost of Rs 49,57,11,000.
