MARGAO
The spate of road accidents near the western bypass road junction at Bellem-Navelim has thrown up a question or two for the PWD, National Highways “ why was no road underpass or a flyover proposed at the intersection for the smooth flow of traffic coming from down South?
The western bypass is not yet commissioned, but the junction at Navelim, where the bypass meets the National Highway 66, has turned accident prone, leaving the local residents in a state of fear about the state of things to come when the 11-km bypass is thrown open for traffic.
Local residents pointed out that the junction has become a death trap for the simple reason that traffic from down South, and vehicles coming from Margao-Navelim and via the bypass converge at the junction. In the absence of any traffic regulation worth its name, the junction has turned into an accident prone zone, locals pointed out.
No doubt, the traffic signals are installed at the junction and are likely to be commissioned earlier next week, but residents have a question or two “ whether the traffic signals would suffice to regulate traffic at the junction in the long run when traffic from the National Highway, from Maharashtra to Karnataka would ply on the bypass once commissioned.
“Why should intra-state traffic get stuck at the junction when the same is being regulated by the traffic signals. A road underpass or a flyover at the site, for the intra-state traffic to enter the Margao city from down South would have facilitated uninterrupted flow of traffic at the junction,” locals pointed out.
Interestingly, the PWD, National Highways has made no provision for an underpass at the Bellem-Navelim bypass junction, which is expected to become a busiest traffic junction on the bypass, given that both inter-state and intra-state traffic would converge at the junction.
Surprisingly, the provision for an underpass at the Bellem junction has not been made in the fresh tender floated to carry out work on the balance 2.75 km bypass, between Seraulim and Benaulim, where the PWD has made provision for underpasses at a couple of points.
Says Telaulim Sarpanch Estevan Goes: “An underpass or a flyover is a dire necessity at the Bellem road junction given the volume of traffic that is expected to converge at the spot in the future. Even before the full commissioning of the western bypass, the Bellem junction has become an accident prone zone.”
The sarpanch said the Telaulim gram sabha and the panchayat would deliberate on the burning issue and adopt a resolution demanding construction of an underpass at the junction.
Navelim resident George Barretto echoed similar sentiments. He said the PWD, National Highway has bulldozed its way with the bypass without taking into account the pattern of traffic flow at the junction. “We had in the past demanded an underpass or a flyover at the junction to ensure free flow of traffic, both inter-state traffic and traffic that would be entering Navelim and Margao. Still there is time to put the underpass or flyover in place before the commissioning of the western bypass,” he demanded.
Newly-elected Navelim BJP MLA Ulhas Tuenkar has promised to take up with the government for an underpass to mitigate the traffic snarls at the bypass junction.
Following a spate of accidents, Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Navelim, Fr Gabriel Coutinho had invoked the blessings of the Almighty early this week and blessed the junction to keep the accidents at bay.
