MARGAO
Union Road Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s plan to build a four-lane and six-lane highway from Navelim to Polem at an estimated cost of whopping Rs 3,500 crore may ring in good news for the motorists travelling on the NH66.
Citizens, however, hope that the Union Surface Transport Ministry will execute the highway road widening project in a planned manner taking into account the future traffic requirements and not just treat the highway stretch as a corridor for the passage of motor vehicles on the South-North national highway.
In fact, citizens from Cuncolim, Chinchinim as well as Navelim have been waging a battle for planned development of the national highway. They have hoped that the Union Road Transport Ministry resolve the issues, including the construction of flyovers and bypasses along the Navelim-Cuncolim stretch keeping in mind the long-term traffic requirements.
Road bypass with underpasses in Cuncolim
The Cuncolim bypass was originally planned to run parallel to the Konkan railway tracks, at Sarzora before the bypass joins the NH66 at Balli. This alignment was planned to save houses from the axe along the Panzorconne stretch of the National Highway. The Union Ministry for Road Transport, however, insisted that the Cuncolim bypass should start at the Uskini bandh, just meters before the Cuncolim bus stand, before the bypass joins the NH66 near the Balli Primary Health Centre.
The reason cited for this alignment was that since land is already acquired along the Sarzora-Panzorconne-Uskini bandh stretch, it will help save the construction cost.
Then came a proposal that the flyover proposed along the NH stretch at Dandeavaddo in Chinchinim village should be extended right up to Uskini band to ensure that properties along the Panzorconne stretch are not affected by the future highway development.
As things stand today, the Union Minister seemed to have zeroed in on the Cuncolim bypass, starting from Uskini bandh, before it wends through Culvaddo-Sanvorcotto, Comba, before meeting the highway at Balli.
Citizens have hoped that the Union Ministry will not build a flyover, but underpasses at all the bypass intersections along the stretch, from Cuncolim to Balli.
Road bypass in Dandeavaddo
Residents of Dandeavaddo in Chinchinim village have been waging a sustained battle for the last one decade for the construction of a road bypass to decongest traffic on the existing highway. Led by the Chinchinim Panchayat body, the villagers have not lost a single opportunity to petition all and sundry, including the Union Minister for Road Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in support of a road bypass.
Sadly, the prayers of the villagers seemed fallen on deaf ears with the Union Ministry drawing up plans to build a flyover at Dandeavaddo instead of a road bypass.
Chinchinim Sarpanch Valentino Barretto, who hails from Dandeavaddo, said a road bypass would have met all future highway expansion requirements, but lamented that the Union Ministry is insisting on building a flyover through the congested highway stretch at Dandeavaddo.
The panchayat and the residents have now come up with an alternative for the consideration of the government “ build the flyover, but not along the existing highway, but along the proposed bypass. “Since the government is insisting on building a flyover at Dandeavaddo, the panchayat has now written to the government to build the flyover, but along the bypass route as part of the future planning,” he added.
The western bypass joins the NH66 at Navelim at Belem, but the absence of a flyover has turned the road junction into an accident prone zone. Questions are being raised for how long will the authorities regulate traffic on the NH66 via traffic signals at the junction when the inter-state vehicular traffic has been increasing with each passing day, inconveniencing the locals?
In fact, a flyover at Belem was never proposed in the western bypass project when the bypass joins the highway at Belem-Navelim. It was only after the traffic junction turned into an accident prone zone, following a spate of road accidents that the PWD, national Highways have now proposed a flyover at Navelim.
Local residents have pointed out that a flyover is a must to tide over the traffic bottlenecks at the Belem junction and to ensure smooth movement of highway traffic without accidents.
