Basilica roof repairs to be completed in two weeks: ASI Goa

Panaji: Repairs of the

Basilica

of Bom Jesus roof will be completed within two weeks,

ASI

(Goa circle) superintending archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna said on Thursday.

Disciplinary action will be taken against the Aurangabad-based contractor who abandoned the work and left the roof of the world heritage monument open to the elements, Ramakrishna told TOI.

“The contractor is presently in Hospet, but due to the lockdown he is unable to do anything. There was sudden rainfall on Monday and due to that there is some problem. We have seen the damage and we will attend to it immediately,” he said.

Although, the ASI officer said that repairs would be completed in two weeks, he was unable to commit to a date when the work would begin. “We are processing the papers. Most probably we will begin work next week,” he told TOI.

Denying there was any delay on the part of ASI to repair the roof, Ramakrishna said the “actual tender process had taken a long time. The contract was awarded to the contractor from Aurangabad approved by the director general”.

Work on the roof began before the lockdown in March, he said.

Ports minister Michael Lobo inspected the damage to the monument which houses the relics of

St Francis Xavier

on Thursday after basilica rector Fr Patricio Fernandes on Wednesday appealed to the chief minister, Goa governor, Archbishop of Goa, director general of ASI and other authorities for urgent intervention in repairing the monument before the monsoon.

The rector had stated that the walls of the basilica were crumbling, that termites were attacking the altars and statues and the unseasonal rain last week wet its walls, wooden beams and floor.

TOI had first reported on October 13, 2019, that the basilica was showing signs of rainfall damage.

Fernandes, in his letter, stated that the work was pending since January and maintenance work was required to be completed before the monsoon to ensure that the basilica is not only protected and conserved for the present generation, but is safeguarded for future generations.

“The failure to undertake repairs on time and the absence of proper and necessary facilities gives a clear indication that the basilica has not been a priority for the ASI,” he wrote in the letter.


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