A renovated and air-conditioned Town Hall will be ready by December here, if everything goes on according to the plans of the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC).
All major government functions used to be held at the Aroor Lakshminarayana Rao Town Hall till two years ago. But then the roof of the Town Hall started leaking and some of the fibre chairs installed there got damaged.
Then there was a problem with the acoustics. With the result, the audience could not hear the proceedings on the stage properly. The leaky roof made it difficult for the audience to sit there during the rainy season. The CMC then had to shut down the Town Hall and many government programmes started being held in other halls.
However, realising the importance of the Town Hall, the CMC gave its nod for the renovation works. The construction of the Town Hall has been taken up by the Nirmiti Kendra at a cost of Rs. 4 crore. The roof sheets of the Town Hall had been changed and a new false ceiling would be put up under the sheets.
CMC Commissioner Gokuldas Nayak told The Hindu on Monday that after the renovation, the Town Hall would accommodate about 850 persons as against 1,000 earlier. “This is because we are installing broad seats,” he said.
The renovated Town Hall will have air-conditioning facilit. Eight large windows were being built in the hall. The Town Hall would have vitrified flooring. It would have two greenrooms with attached toilets. There would be separate toilet facilities for the audience.
The entrance to the Town Hall would be spruced up. A higher capacity generator would be installed at the renovated Town Hall.
“Our aim is to provide a town hall with modern facilities and with a pleasing ambience so that functions or programmes held there become pleasing for those on the stage and the audience”, Mr. Nayak said.
