TEAM HERALD
OLD GOA: Lightning struck Se Cathedral on Friday night and destroyed one of its gables, while also damaging roof tiles at several places.
The false ceiling of one of the halls inside the church, which is close to the residence of the priests, was also found damaged.
Pieces of the gable and of the roof tiles were seen scattered at the entrance of the church, which leads to the sacristy, whereas some pieces fell inside the hall and some in the garden.
Speaking to Herald, a local from Old Goa, Mario Viana, who resides in close vicinity of the Se Cathedral, informed that he saw lightning strike the Se Cathedral at around 7 pm on Friday.
Viana then went to check the damage caused to the world heritage church on Saturday morning and found that the gable had been destroyed along with roof tiles. He further raised suspicion that the incident occurred as the lightning conductors installed at the church were not functioning properly, due to which they could not divert the lightning.
Viana then laid the blame on the ASI, which, he said, was responsible for maintaining the lightning conductors.
“The lightning conductors did not work as there could have been loose earth contact at the conductor level or the ground level,” opined Viana, while stating that the ground earth of one of the conductors is not placed properly as it is exposed and stamped upon by tourists when walking. “The ground earth should be concealed,” he added. When contacted, Se Cathedral Parish Priest Fr Alfred Vaz informed Herald that the ASI authorities assessed the damage. “When I questioned them whether the lightning conductors are working, they claimed that they were functioning,” he added.
