Town Hall to miss its date with golden jubilee

Old chairs are dumped in front of the Town Hall inMangaluru as part of its ongoing renovation. Photo: H.S. Manjunath

The city Town Hall that is being renovated for its golden jubilee is expected to be ready only by February-end.

The plan was to complete it by the end of this month as the building, inaugurated on December 29, 1964, is heading for its golden jubilee three weeks from now. Its renovation began mid-September.

Mayor Mahabala Marla had said earlier that it had been planned to renovate the building at a cost of Rs. 1 crore leaving its interior design untouched.

Total makeover

Now it is getting a total facelift by altering interior design as well, with the total cost expected to touch Rs. 3.5 crore.

He said that now sound and light system at the hall was not owned by the corporation.

In the extended scope of work, there would be a fixed sound and light system like in modern cinemas, controlled from the back of the hall. The hall would have a false ceiling with air-conditioned facility.

New comfortable seats

An Assistant Executive Engineer at the corporation said the hall would have modern cushioned seats. The old 1,008 seats have been removed. When the new seats are installed, the seating capacity would be reduced by about 35 to 40 seats.

The engineer said the front portion of the stage would be extended further and there would be a direct entry to the stage from the back.

In addition, there would be a separate entry to the green rooms from the back. It would help to clear the stage quickly in case of series of programmes.

The stage will have cyclorama facility (a large curtain or wall at the back of the stage). The screens would be arranged in such a way that the size of the stage could be made larger or smaller.

There would a VIP room behind the stage. The toilets and bathrooms would be renovated.

There would be four toilets for the public in addition to two in the green room for artistes.

An extra green room would be built. The leaking ceiling would be repaired.

Social hub

The hall is a prominent venue for social, political and cultural events in the city. In 2013-14, it saw 317 programmes earning the corporation a revenue of Rs. 12.36 lakh. The hall had been renovated last in 1997.

The corporation has awarded the civil works (building works) to the Nirmiti Kendra at a cost of Rs. 1 crore.