Sarnaik offers to pay Rs 10 lakh monthly to open Balasaheb Thackeray art gallery in Mira-Bhayandar

The late Balasaheb Thackeray art gallery in Mira-Bhayandar has been inaugurated, yet its doors remain shut to the public. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik took the ruling side and the municipal administration to task over this. He told officials plainly that the gallery should be opened to schoolchildren for at least seven days around Diwali and should keep running regularly after that.

Sarnaik said the gallery's upkeep costs about Rs 10 lakh a month and that he is ready to bear this expense.

The gallery was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Sarnaik was present on the occasion. Facilities built here include a science centre, a children's section, an auditorium, an exhibition hall, a library and a restaurant. Even so, it has not yet opened to the public, which has caused resentment among residents.

According to a report by the civic body's public works department, about Rs 10 lakh a month is expected to be spent on security, cleaning, staff, ticketing, the air-conditioning system, generators, CCTV and lift maintenance at the gallery. It is also being said that the building has not yet been taken over by the civic body from the contractor, and that a policy on how to run the gallery has not been decided.

Sarnaik said bluntly that if the delay in opening the gallery is due to the civic body's financial condition and the responsibility for the expense, the mayor should give a written letter on the matter. He said that if the civic body cannot bear the Rs 10 lakh monthly expense, he is ready to bear the entire cost.

He also questioned the role of those in power. He said it was not right to seek votes in the name of the late Balasaheb Thackeray at election time and then oppose the gallery built in his name. Putting his point firmly, Sarnaik said that if the respect for Balasaheb's ideas and name is to be upheld, the gallery should be opened to citizens immediately.

Now that Pratap Sarnaik has himself offered to bear the monthly expense, people in Mira-Bhayandar are watching to see when the doors of the late Balasaheb Thackeray art gallery will finally open to the public.