Labour Minister and Dharwad district in-charge Santosh Lad has directed the district administration to chalk out a plan for renovating the 130-year-old heritage building in Dharwad which houses the Government College for Women.
He spoke to officials after visiting the heritage building and inspecting the structure and infrastructure available there on Wednesday.
At present, the college administration is finding it difficult to run classes as the building is leaking at several places due to lack of repairs.
Mr. Lad said that steps will be taken to get the required funds for the renovation of the heritage structure. “As it is a heritage structure, steps will be taken to retain the design of the building during renovation. After repairs, it will be given back to run the college,” he said.
He said that the government has already allotted one acre land, including the heritage building, for construction of a new building for the college and asked the officials to plan for a new building while retaining the heritage structure. The Minister asked the college principal not to run classes in the old building.
Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Gurudatta Hegde told the Minister over phone that alternative arrangements have already been made for conducting classes in the neighbouring DIET and Kannada Sahitya Parishat building.
After the rain subsides, steps will be taken to replace the tiles of the roof and other necessary repairs will be carried out, he told the Minister.
The Minister was accompanied by Deputy Director of Collegiate Education P.B. Kalyanshettar, principal Saraswati Kalasad and other officials.
