Work on the project began over five years ago but is yet to reach an end, due to which the state-level women’s fugdi contest had been shifted to Sankhali and the finals to Margao. Incidentally, the contest organizer is the Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir board.
At a press conference on Sunday, the artistes threatened to stage an agitation if the government did not complete the repair work by December. Artistes Eknath Naik, Shashikant Nageshkar, and Bandora panch Suhkanand Kurpaskar stated that the art-loving people of Ponda had been suffering since 2010 due to the delay in constructing the RGKM building. They stated that the contest, which began on August 24, was being organised by RGKM after five years and that over 121 fugdi groups from across Goa would participate in it.“Since Ponda is a cultural city with culture-loving people, numerous temples and a religious environment all year round, it deserves to have a full fledged arts centre – Kala Mandir – but the work is progressing at a snail’s pace,” said Nageshkar.
He wanted the organisers to hold the contest in either in a temple or hall in Ponda as a most of the audience as well as fugdi participants were from the taluka. If not the whole event, he stated, at least the finals should be held in Ponda.
Eknath Naik claimed the government had assured to complete the RGKM project on August 15. He question what had happened to the promise and when it would be fulfilled.
