NH66 EXPANSION THROUGH DANDEAVADDO
The Dandeavaddo stretch of the NH66.
MARGAO
With the Ministry of Road Transport floating a tender for the expansion of the NH66 Cuncolim-Navelim road, beleaguered residents of Chinchinim along with Velim MLA Cruz Silva will make a last ditch attempt to convince Chief Minister Pramod Sawant not to go ahead for the highway expansion passing through Dandeavaddo on stilts but instead build a road bypass.
In fact, the Velim MLA told the media that he would lead a delegation of residents and the local Chinchinim Panchayat body to the Chief Minister to see reason and build the road bypass instead of an elevated corridor at Dandeavaddo.
Armed with an NOC from the local comunidade body giving its no objection to the construction of the road bypass through its fields, the delegation will remind the Chief Minister of his promise to go for the road bypass if the residents obtain NOC from the local communidade body.
The Velim MLA told the media that he along with the local residents of Dandeavaddo-Chinchinim and the panchayat body tried their best to persuade the government to build the road bypass instead of an elevated corridor. “We had called on the Chief Minister, PWD Chief Engineer, the engineers and had an interaction with Union Road and Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, but in vain”, Cruz lamented.
Admitting that the PWD has now floated a tender and has set in motion to cut down the trees lining on both sides of the existing highway by numbering the trees, the MLA has now pinned his hopes on the Chief Minister to mete out justice for the people of Chinchinim. “The people are not opposing the proposed NH66 highway expansion, but are only requesting the government to build a road bypass as against the proposed elevated corridor at Dandeavaddo. I hope our last attempt with the Chief Minister will bear fruit”, he added.
Reminding that the Chief Minister had assured the local residents that the government can do a rethink of building an elevated corridor at Dandeavaddo in the event the local Communiade issues the NOC for the road bypass construction, Cruz said “we have now received the NOC from the local Communidade body, but the government has floated a tender to expand the NH66”.
He added: “Though the government has floated the tender, instances are galore wherein changes have been made to post-tendering of projects. Hope Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will take a sympathetic stand on the request of Chinchinim villagers and go for a road bypass”.
To a question, he said residents of the 20-25 houses located along the NH66 passing through Dandeavaddo are concerned that the government will freeze development along the road stretch in the future.
