New Delhi (Agency): A section of Goa’s renowned Kala Academy building in Panaji suffered a collapse last month. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has now informed the legislative assembly that the main cause of the collapse was the corrosion of the building’s steel and composite structures over the past 40 years. This was confirmed after examining inquiry reports which the Chief Minister presented during the last day of the Monsoon session.
On July 17, a portion of an open-air auditorium, which was under renovation in the Kala Academy building, suddenly collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. This event led to concerns from opposition members, who questioned the quality of the work being carried out at the building. In response to these concerns, Sawant promised to share the findings from the inquiry report during the Monsoon session.
Elaborating on the findings, Chief Minister Sawant explained, “Four reports have been obtained which indicate that the failure of the structure was basically due to the corrosion of structural steel and also not being embedded in the RCC (reinforced cement concrete) slab, causing reduction of the load and the moment-resisting capacity of the structural members.” He further added, “The composite structures were under corrosion attack for more than 43 years, which resulted in the sudden collapse of the structure’s steel members and RCC slab.”
After this unfortunate incident, the state’s Public Works Department took immediate steps to understand the root cause. The department’s Principal Chief Engineer was instructed to engage an independent agency, possibly IIT Roorkee or another top engineering institute, to conduct a thorough investigation. Additionally, the department requested an explanation from the contractor who was overseeing the renovation work. However, when IIT Roorkee did not respond, the state government approached IIT Delhi to undertake the inquiry.
This incident serves as a reminder about the importance of regular maintenance and checks, especially for older structures. The timely analysis and presentation of the inquiry reports will help in preventing such occurrences in the future and ensuring the safety of public buildings.