Trustees of Assembly Rooms in Udhagamandalam deny plans to sell facility to private operators
The Board of Trustees of the Assembly Rooms in Udhagamandalam have denied reports alleging that the building is being sold or handed over to private
The Board of Trustees of the Assembly Rooms in Udhagamandalam have denied reports alleging that the building is being sold or handed over to private operators. In a statement, the Board of Trustees said that the claims are “false, misleading and unsupported by facts.” “Let us state this unequivocally: Assembly Rooms is not being sold. There is no proposal to transfer its ownership to any private individual or company. It will remain a Trust property, governed by its Trust Deed and administered collectively by the Board of Trustees,” they said in their statement “The Governor of Tamil Nadu is the Patron of the Trust, the Nilgiris District Collector serves as its president, and the Trust is administered by seven trustees. No individual trustee has the authority to sell the property or independently determine its future,” they added.
They said that it was misleading to claim that the Assembly Rooms is being converted into a cinema complex as it had functioned as a cinema since 1931. They said that they were exploring a partnership with an experienced cinema operator to continue and improve the facility and that such efforts were neither a sale nor an abandonment of the Trust’s objectives. “What is being considered is a professionally structured operating partnership under which the Trust will retain the ownership, identity, heritage character and public purpose of Assembly Rooms. Any final arrangement will be strictly governed by the Trust Deed, applicable heritage and building laws, and all required statutory and judicial approvals,” they said. The trustees said that they recognised the historical and cultural importance of the Assembly Rooms and that was the reason that any restoration and modernisation must be done carefully and responsibly.
“However, preservation cannot mean allowing the institution to deteriorate slowly. Assembly Rooms requires substantial investment in structural repairs, heritage-sensitive restoration, electrical and safety systems, seating, projection, sound, public amenities and continuing maintenance. The Trust presently does not generate the capital required to undertake improvements of this scale,” they said. They said that due to dwindling audience numbers, that some screenings exceed the cost of income from gate receipts with parking fees being utilised to cover the expenses of staff salaries, electricity charges, maintenance and licence fees. “The unfortunate reality is that very few people now come to Assembly Rooms for screenings... Many residents of the Nilgiris travel to Coimbatore or Mysuru because those cities presently offer better projection, sound, seating and an improved overall cinema experience. This is precisely why Assembly Rooms must be upgraded.
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