The red flag which warns motorists and pedestrians of the drain ahead. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO: It’s over a month now since a red flag put up alongside the storm water drain in the busy new market road which warns motorists and pedestrians of the danger that lies ahead.
Reason: The slabs of the storm water drain had collapsed along with the side walls of the drain, posing danger to motorists and pedestrians alike.
What, however, has come as a big surprise for traders, customers and users of the busy new market road is that none of the authorities, neither the Margao Municipality nor the PWD has bothered to repair the drain and fix the slabs.
Traders had taken up the issue with the Margao MLA Digambar Kamat as well as with the Municipal authorities, but in vain. Traders said the damaged roadside drain has become an accident prone zone for motorists as well as for pedestrians. As it is, the road is narrow and the damage to the drain has also added to the traffic woes in the market area”, remarked a trader.
When The Goan inquired with the Margao Municipal Engineer Diniz D’Mello to shed light on the damage drain and the long delay in fixing the issue, he said the drain falls in the domain of the PWD. He, however, hastened to add that the MMC can fix the slabs, but pointed out that the side walls of the drain need urgent repairs before being covered with the slabs.
“We can provide the slabs, but the structure, especially the side walls have become weak. In this situation, covering the drain with slabs will not help. The drain will have to be repaired before covering it with concrete slabs”, the engineer said.
Traders and citizens, however, are tired of the excuses and reasons cited by the Margao Municipal and PWD officials over the non-repair of the drain for well over a month now. “We are not interested in whose jurisdiction the drain falls. It is for the PWD and the Municipality to work together and restore the drain covered with concrete slabs”, a trader said, adding that the citizens are not supposed to run from pillar to post to get the agencies restore the drain and the slabs.
