The inevitable has happened in Panaji. The first fury of the monsoon literally brought the capital city to its knees, flooding significant portions and leaving roads inundated and non-motorable. Newly tarred roads caved in, and craters opened up at several places, posing grave danger to vehicular traffic. While some roads have been washed away, like the one in Tonca and Bhatlem, others developed massive potholes while many remained water-logged with the drainage system failing.
The newly-laid cement road at St Inez, which is yet to be completed, has become a parking lot because of the elevated surface restricting access to business establishments. The same is the case along the 18th June Road, where most shops were flooded with rainwater. Despite the delay in the monsoon that came as a 'grace period', the smart city in the making failed its first test.
We recall the urgency shown towards the end of May with Sanjit Rodrigues as the new CEO of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL), going into overdrive and pushing the accelerator with a triple shift, continuing works through the night. None of those efforts helped because it is apparent that quality checks have gone amiss in that extraordinary hurry.
The IPSCDL explains that there is a possibility of 'road settlement' in smart city works, which means that the newly laid surfaces may cave in due to the soft soil underneath. It is still early days, and the monsoon is still to test Panaji. The question is whether the worst of the smart city is yet to unfold. Or will IPSCDL go on a 'cover-up' spree?
The miscalculation has been a foregone conclusion, but acts of mismanagement are beginning to flood minds as the pain continues to be inflicted on common citizens. The development comes at a price, and leaders have consistently advised citizens to have patience and bear up for a short time. With the deluge, this appears to be an endless tale of agony without an iota of smartness visible. Planning and execution have been so patchy that we wonder whether all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle will eventually fall in place or whether Panaji will be reduced to fragments of faulty planning.
With Panaji staring at an unprecedented mess, the government must step in to take stock of the situation and assess works. Roads beings washed away, potholes surfacing in newly laid tarmac, and some roads developing gaping holes are not good signs. The sheen of smartness is fading much before it can present itself in all its fullness. There must be a cross-check and quality audit; otherwise, those responsible will take cushion under the guise of soft soil or the traditional Mandovi theory of reverse currents that cause yearly Panaji flooding.
So while the rain pours, the government must get into gear and call for an assessment. Otherwise, by the next monsoon, by which time all works would end, hopefully, Panaji could be ready for yet another makeover and citizens for more discomfort.
