MARGAO
Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Digambar Kamat last week announced that Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had approved three major road proposals for South Goa, including a new high-level bridge over the Zuari river at Borim.
But in Chinchinim, residents of Dandeavaddo have been waging a nearly 15-year-long battle for a bypass on NH66.
The residents have consistently demanded a road bypass at Dandeavaddo, arguing that it would better cater to the present and future traffic requirements of the area. Over the past decade and a half, residents, along with the Chinchinim village panchayat, have approached several authorities and political leaders, including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, former Chief Minister the late Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and PWD Minister Digambar Kamat, but their demand has remained unaddressed.
The issue has now come to a head, with agitated residents recently taking to the streets to stop work on the column foundations of the proposed flyover.
The residents are demanding that PWD officials explain why the government has opted for a flyover when the local community has been consistently pressing for a road bypass.
They have also questioned whether the proposed flyover will adequately address the area's traffic requirements in the long term, particularly in view of the increasing volume of traffic on NH66.
