Portion of Goa’s Kala Academy collapses, opposition hits out at BJP government

A portion of Goa’s iconic Kala Academy collapsed on Monday days after culture minister Govind Gaude defended his department’s decision against choosing a consultant via a tender process for the renovation of the cultural hub, saying the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan also did not call for tenders for Taj Mahal. Gaude has been overseeing the renovation project at an estimated cost of ₹55 crore.

Opposition parties hit out at Gaude over the collapse. Goa Forward Party leader Vijai Sardesai said he stands vindicated and that “the grand corruption” of Goa’s Shah Jahans are perpetrating will eventually lead to the state’s destruction. He asked what excuse does the Goa government have now. “Will the minister who was defending this disaster quit and hand over charge to someone clean and competent before the whole building collapses?” Sardesai tweeted. “The real Taj Mahal still stands because the real Shah Jahan was not on 40% commission.”

Sardesai said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party attacked him “mercilessly” for exposing the “massive irregularities” in the renovation of Kala Academy.

Congress leader Elvis Gomes said that the collapse was reflective of a “total collapse of systems in Goa”.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant said he has asked the public works department’s principal chief engineer to inspect and assess the extent of the damage.

Celebrated architect and urban planner late Charles Correa designed the Kala Academy building. The Charles Correa Foundation, which the family of the late architect has set up, raised concerns that the renovation could threaten the building’s character. It said the building was one of the finest examples of the works of Correa and renowned cartoonist Mario Miranda, whose hand-painted murals adorn the walls of its main auditorium.

The building built in the 1960s was among the first cultural centres in the newly liberated territory of Goa. A centre for art, culture, and music, its main auditorium is named after Dinanath Mangeshkar, the father of iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar, who was from Goa.