Ahmedabad halls and auditoriums to get a facelift

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is on a renovation spree. It has made a provision of Rs31 crore for construction or renovation of auditoriums and community halls in the city.

It has already started renovation or construction of more than half a dozen auditoriums and community halls including Tagore Hall, DK Patel Hall and Balwantrai Mehta Hall to name a few.

The famous Tagore Hall in Paldi has remained one of the favourite places for artists and other groups. However, this auditorium will not be available for at least a year as it is under renovation right now.

The civic body plans retrofitting of the hall. That is not all. It has also decided to change the carpets, seats, air conditioning systems in order to give it a new look. It has already invited tenders for renovation work of the hall at an estimated cost of Rs6.70 crore.

Similarly, AMC is also mulling makeover of shabby looking Narottam Zaveri Hall in Paldi. Along with retrofitting the walls, the civic body will change its fall ceiling, flooring and will add landscaping element for the beautification.AMC has earmarked around Rs1.40 crore for renovation of this hall.

AMC had also planned to renovate the Balwantrai Mehta Hall at Kankaria, but the plan had to be aborted as the consultant suggested building a new hall as the structure was damaged badly.After the suggestion, the civic body has started building a new hall at a cost of around Rs4 crore.

Moreover, the civic body has already finished renovation work of Jayendra Pandit Picnic House at Kankaria at a cost of around Rs2 crore. Renovation of DK Patel Hall in Naranpura and Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Hall in Khokhra were also on cards.

However, AMC’s road and building committee returned the proposals to municipal commissioner for reconsideration.
The civic body is not only renovating existing halls and auditoriums but is also building new community halls and auditoriums in different wards of the city.

For example, it has built a community hall in Bodakdev ward and also planning to set up an auditorium with capacity of around 1,000 seats in the same ward.

Along with community halls and auditoriums, Seth Shri Maneklal Jethalal (MJ) Library is also under renovation project.

AMC plans to renovate one of the oldest libraries in the city at a cost of around Rs6 crore in two years.