MARGAO
During his stint as PWD Minister over a decade ago, MLA Churchill Alemao had proposed three dream bridges over the river Sal to link Salcete’s coastal belt to the mainland.
While he succeeded in building the Assolna-Cavelossim and Varca-Telaulim bridges, the Navelim-Benaulim, had to be abandoned mid-way following objections from the local populace.
Close to a decade now after all the work was stopped on the Navelim-Benaulim bridge and the contractor later moving the court for damages, the PWD has revived project.
In fact, the PWD has floated a tender to complete the balance portion of the Navelim-Benaulim bridge at a cost of Rs four crore.
PWD, Executive Engineer, Div VI, Prasad Panandikar, told The Goan that work on the Navelim-Benaulim bridge has been tendered and the bid will be opened on February 3. “It may take a maximum of two months to complete the tendering process before actual work could begin at the site,” he said.
To a question, Panandikar said the previous contractor, who was awarded the work of building the bridge, has gone to court for damages. “The matter is pending in the district court. The new contractor as and when finalized will complete the work in all respects before it is thrown open to the public,” he added.
The PWD senior engineer said that since the work pertaining to the pillars and the main slab is already complete, the new contractor will complete the slab work and also the work of approach roads on both sides.
MLA Churchill Alemao said though he had proposed three bridges during his stint as PWD Minister, only two bridges could be completed, while the Navelim-Benaulim was abandoned midway because of political reasons. “The Navelim-Benaulim bridge project had all the environmental clearances, but former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar kept the work in abeyance because of political compulsions,” he said.
Saying that he had done the follow-up of the bridge after becoming MLA of Benaulim in 2017, Churchill said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has now given the go-ahead signal for the completion of the project.
The Navelim-Benaulim bridge was mired in controversy after locals of Sinquetim opposed it tooth and nail. Churchill, who was representing Navelim at the time, had to face flak from the residents of Sinquetim, as the opposition to the bridge snowballed into a major issue.
