Villagers urge CM to push for road bypass at Dandeavaddo instead of a flyover
The NH66 passing through Dandevaddo.
Photo Credits: The Goan/File photo
MARGAO
With the central government approving the Goa government’s request to extend the Verna flyover up to the western bypass at Nuvem, residents of Chinchinim are once again urging Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to push for their demand for a road bypass at Dandeavaddo instead of a proposed flyover.
Hopes have been raised after a villager, Ameya Pai Angle, a resident of Dandeavaddo, received a communiqué from the PWD, NH Executive Engineer stating that the representation made by the Chinchinim Panchayat in support of the road bypass at Dandeavaddo has been forwarded to the MoRTH Goa Office to re-examine and consider the request of the locals.
Chinchinim Sarpanch Frank Viegas told the media that if the Goa government has got Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to extend the Verna flyover to avoid congestion at the Pirnim road junction, the government could very well take up the issue of Chinchinim villagers for a road bypass.
“Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has got Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to extend the Verna flyover right up to the western bypass at Nuvem, despite the fact that the project was already tendered by the PWD, NH. In the case of the highway expansion between Navelim and Cuncolim, the PWD, NH is yet to tender the four-laning project passing through Dandeavaddo. We pin our hopes on the Chief Minister to consider the plea of the residents of Dandeavaddo to build a road bypass instead of a flyover,” Frank added.
Last year too, the PWD, NH had written to the Project Director, MoRTH, Goa camp to consider the request of the Chinchinim village panchayat to build a bypass instead of a flyover at Dandeavaddo.
This follows the petition made by the Chinchinim Sarpanch, insisting that the proposed expansion of the existing NH 66 at the Chinchinim section is likely to affect the local area, for which there was a long-pending demand from the villagers for a bypass.
A communiqué from the PWD, NH to the MORTH Goa camp made last year shows that three alternatives for a bypass were proposed at the Dandeavaddo stretch before the alignment along the existing road was considered, from the end of the Margao Western Bypass to Uskini Band, and thereafter a bypass from Uskini Band to Balli was considered and approved.
“Prior to the alignment approval, there was a strong demand from villagers from Dandeavaddo to construct a bypass, which was under Alternative 1. Since land varying from 30m to 40m was already acquired in 1990 along the existing road between Ch. 554.245 to Ch. 561.890, alignment along the existing road was approved, and further Alternative 3 was considered for the Cuncolim bypass,” the PWD communiqué had stated.
