Race against time as Council Hall gets a makeover

Renovation works in the Council Hall of the Vidhana Soudha have been speeded up, with the legislature session set to begin on June 20.

The contractors who are undertaking the refurbishment were supposed to hand over the Hall to the authorities after completing the works on June 23. 

However, the authorities have now impressed upon the contractors to hand over the place on June 20, so as to be able to hold the session. 

Officials said that during a recent inspection of the gallery and the seating arrangements in the Council Hall, several shortcomings in the renovation work came to the fore. Council chairman D H Shankaramurthy issued instructions to rectify them immediately. 

There was a demand for the provision of a table for Council members and scribes to keep their writing pads and documents. In the gallery section, it was found that there was no provision for railings on the steps to enter and exit the room. 

Officials said that audio pieces and microphones, meant for the legislators, also required rectification. Provisions have been made for additional seating arrangements in the gallery section. It is said that the renovation work will be over in the next two days.

The State is said to have spent no less than Rs 6.5 crore for the renovation, which began in April this year. The estimated cost of the renovation includes painting of the walls and roof. 

An amount of Rs 2 crore was spent on civil work and Rs 4.5 crore on electricity work, sources in the Public Works Department said.