Decades-old Town Hall all set for second innings

Mayor Jacintha Vijaya Alfred said that the renovated Town Hall in Mangaluru will be inaugurated on November 14 at 11 am.

Briefing media persons here on Wednesday, she said that the Town Hall was renovated at a cost of Rs 4.58 crore. The booking for the Town Hall will commence from December 1.

The Town Hall in Mangaluru was inaugurated on December 29, 1964. To observe the golden jubilee celebrations of the Town Hall, the Mangaluru City Corporation had decided to renovate the interiors of the Town Hall last year. Accordingly, the work commenced in September last year and was delayed due to various reasons.

The civil works taken up by the Nirmiti Kendra, a year ago, had come to an abrupt end after they refused to continue the works. Later, the works were split and given to different contractors.

The Mayor said that granite flooring of the ‘padasale’ (verandah) of Town hall, the work on green room, VIP room, water proof work and interior repairs were taken up at a cost of Rs 99.75 lakh. The acoustic panelling, stage, sound and light system and false ceiling were taken up at a cost of Rs 98 lakh. As the seatings were old and torn, new chairs were fixed at a cost of Rs 60 lakh. The ACs have been installed at a cost of Rs 48 lakh. New cables have been laid and generator facility has been provided at a cost of Rs 49 lakh. The water supply system and UGD systems have also been developed. A room has been constructed for the generator. The work on 150 KV electricity sub-station was taken up at a cost of Rs 15 lakh, she added.

The Mayor said that gardens would be laid in front of the Town Hall. The CCTV cameras have been installed inside the Town Hall. Apart from this, the cracks developed on the wall have been repaired, stage has been rebuilt along with installation of fire extinguishers and drinking water facility, she added.

MCC Commissioner Dr H N Gopalakrishna said that rent for the Town Hall will be revised within two days after calculating the electricity bills. The rent will be revised for AC and non-AC facilities. The revision will ensure that it will not be a burden on the organisers of the programme. On the inaugural day, there will be a dance programme by schoolchildren along with a Yakshagana and a play. Mural works have been taken up on the stage as well as inside the Town Hall.