Advocates refuse to enter ‘leaking’ court building in Goa

COLVA: In an effort to highlight the dilapidated condition of the civil and criminal court building in Margao, South Goa advocates refused to enter the premises on Wednesday fearing a threat not only to their lives, but that of litigants, court staff and judicial officers as well.
Nilesh Cabral, minister for law and judiciary, who was passing by, decided to halt and listen to their grievances. He assured the advocates of taking up repair work immediately.
South Goa Advocates’ Association president Prasad Naik said, “Upon getting elected in May this year, I immediately wrote to the authorities about the unfit condition of the building roof, and urged them to take up repair work, but nothing was done.”
“With the onset of the monsoon, water started leaking in the courtrooms, judicial officers’ chambers, court offices and also the corridors. thereby endangering everyone’s lives,” he said.
As a stop-gap arrangement, PWD had spread plastic on the roof, but with the strong winds and heavy showers it got displaced, and rainwater again started dripping inside the court building.
Prasad said that as rainwater seeps or leaks through the roofs and gets onto the false ceiling, there is fear that it might collapse causing injury and even casualty. There have been incidents when pieces of the false ceiling have fallen in the advocates’ room.
South Goa principal district judge Irshad Agha also assured the association of immediately moving the courts in the old building to the district and sessions court building, Naik said.