MARGAO
Ahead of the monsoons, the Comba subway has finally got a fresh lease of life with the surface receiving a concrete layer, with gutters on either side.
With the monsoon around the corner, the PWD is expected to put the water pump in place at the road underpass to pump out water from the subway in times of high tide when the flood water fails to drain out in the adjoining river Sal.
Fate of Comba railway
level crossing unknown
While a fresh coat of paint at the entrance and exit to the subway has come as welcome news to the commuters, especially the student community, the moot question remains unanswered “ when would the proposed T-shape flyover finally take shape at the Comba railway level crossing since the subway has outlived its utility?
For, while Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will be descending in Margao on May 16 to lay the foundation stone for the six-lane Rawanfond bridge at a whopping cost of Rs 52 crore, the fate of the flyover at the Comba level crossing remains unknown.
Margao Digambar Kamat has claimed that he has taken up the Comba level crossing flyover with Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to sanction funds for the project, which is expected to cost the exchequer over Rs 100 crore.
While Kamat’s initiative with the Union Surface Transport Minister is a welcome development since the project will cost the government a bomb, residents of Comba as well as the parents of students studying in the Comba education hub, however, pointed out that the Goa government should take up the project on top priority.
Travelling nightmare
With around 70-odd trains presently running on the Konkan railway tracks, necessitating the shutting down of the level crossing 70 times in a given day, locals say the traffic snarls witnessed near the railway crossing right up to the educational institutions have been aggravating with each passing year.
A parent pointed out that travelling to the Comba education hub with their wards is a nightmare, more so when the level crossing is closed for traffic.
The situation turns worse, they say, during the monsoons when the subway remains inundated with water, leaving serpentine queues of vehicles on both sides of the railway crossing.
