Over the past 13 years, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation has been busy building bridges and improving connectivity across Goa. All together, it has constructed 28 bridges with five more under construction, including the third bridge across the Mandovi. All this work is commendable, but there are flaws in the implementation of this work.
Bridges do improve connectivity and there are many villages that have benefitted from this. Better connectivity does result in better economic conditions, under viable circumstances. Supply of goods and produce becomes easier. Travel times get reduced. If there are commercial zones in the area, those can be taken advantage off. Without a bridge, most of this would be next to impossible, which is the reason why the residents of Chorao have been crying out for a bridge for years now. The island is cut off from the mainland and there are difficulties in travel by ferry. The socio-economic culture of the village is by far degrading.
Put all of this in perspective and you have 28 areas that should ideally benefit, and they do. But after spending crores of rupees on these bridges, there is a lack of maintenance work and upkeep, which might just end up turning the bridge into a massive white elephant.
In 2014, work on the Cumbarjua-Gaundalim bridges were completed. However they haven’t been commissioned yet, so they stand unused. Interestingly, the smaller bridge has developed a crack not too long after construction, judging by the timeline. The approach roads haven’t been developed yet and even though the repairs are complete, it is still closed. Another point to ponder on here is that the bridge has not been built on the traditional route into the village but on the far side; the positioning of the bridge links up the village to the national highway, which now might result in far more vehicles passing through than expected.
As a result of all this, the villagers are not keen enough on using the bridge since it involves going more than a kilometer out of their way to traverse this bridge. This is akin to attempting to hold your nose by wrapping your arm around your head instead of from in front of your face. The logic here, or lack of it, is astounding. If there was some rationale in the positioning, it has not been transparent.
This however, is just one example of bad planning. Recent figures prove that more than planning, it is the lack of maintenance that is alarming. In March 2014, tenders were invited for inspection and maintenance of all bridges in Goa. The contract was supposed to end in December 2015. But, despite almost Rs 5 crore being spent in South Goa, only 20 percent of electrical work and 8 percent of civil work has been completed. The situation is slightly better in North Goa, where 55 percent of civil work and around 50 percent of electrical work has been done.
Judging by these numbers, it wouldn’t be wrong to presume that somewhere down the line, there will be a bridge that will turn out to be another Zuari bridge, with cracks developing everywhere, proving a clear lack of maintenance work. It doesn’t make sense spending hundreds of crores on building bridges and then wasting money on incomplete inspection and maintenance work. The GSIDC needs to pull up their socks here.
