Artists, social organisations meet KMC officials over Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruha fire tragedy

Kolhapur: Talim Sanghatana, artists, and social organisations from the city met additional commissioner of KMC Rahul Rokade on Thursday about the fire at Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruha on Aug 8.
Rokade assured the activists that a meeting would soon be conducted to address their questions on the tragedy.
Former mayor R K Powar said, "On Aug 8, 2024, Sangeet Surya Keshavrao Bhosle Natyagruha was gutted in a fire.Twenty days have passed since the incident, but no offence was registered under Indian criminal laws to date. What efforts have the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) made to register this crime? After the fire, the civic body held a prompt press conference and informed that an enquiry committee had been formed on it. The KMC has received a report inquiring of this committee. However, no information on this regard has been given to the public. What is the point of hiding such information?"
Social activist advocate Baba Indulkar said, "When the renovation of Keshavrao Bhosle Natyagruha was going on during 2015 to 2017, did the the officials involved in renovation work raise objections on the lack of a proper fire-fighting system? If yes, then the letters regarding the same should be made public. Rs10 crores were spent, but no proper fire management was done. We feel that the work done here regarding fire safety was inferior."
The Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruha Conservation Committee also added, "The work of structural audit is being carried out by a private agency. But what about the archaeological restoration of the said building?"
Activist Dilip Desai said, "We believe the fire was caused due to inaction, indifference, mistake of the civic body, and failure to take proper precautions. The Natyagruha will stand once again as it was, but the mystery behind the fire should be solved first."
Former corporator Bhupal Shete, during a press conference on Thursday evening, said, "Even when 20 CCTV cameras were approved for installation and when the bill for 20 CCTV cameras was cleared by KMC, there are only 12 CCTV cameras actually installed on the premises of the Natyagruha. Where did the remaining 8 cameras go?"