PANAJI
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who was here to inaugurate the left arm of the 8-lane cable stayed Zuari Bridge on Friday, announced an out-of-turn allocation of Rs 100 crore to do away with accident 'black spots' on Goa's roads even as he urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his government to work in the direction of eliminating deaths on roads due to accidents.
Gadkari, who also laid the foundation stone for the Observatory Towers and viewing Gallery' at the bridge as also the six-lane elevated corridor at Porvorim, also asked Sawant to come up with a policy by which all taxi owners across Goa are encouraged to switch to electric vehicles.
"It will help significantly reduce pollution," Gadkari said of his advice to incentivise the tourist taxi owners to go for EVs.
The Union minister also said that the work of the contractors entrusted with the national highway related projects and the Zuari Bride will be evaluated.
"How are the expansion joints of the bridge? They are not excellent but they aren't bad (karabh) either," Gadkari said, even as he claimed that he does not indulge in 'lakshmi darshan' with contractors in a veiled reference to the practice of politicians in power taking commissions from contractors of government projects.
"I only expect the contractors to execute good work, which is the nation's interest," Gadkari said.
Gadkari also announced that Rs 10,000 crore worth of new road work where land acquisition processes are almost complete to be taken up on an annual plan. These works will start in Goa within the next six months, he added.
The event addressed by Gadkari was held on the new Zuari bridge and the inauguration of its left side arm marks the completion of the eight-lane Zuari Bridge project at a cost of Rs 2,530 crore. The nearly seven years that the bridge took for its construction saw motorists face tremendous hardships with traffic snarls affecting the commuting public for hours on a daily basis.
Gadkari also briefly adorned the avatar of 'Santa Claus' during his speech where he made multiple announcements of allocation or sanction of funds for road work in Goa.
Apart from the Rs 100-crore for remediation of the accident-prone black spots, the Union minister also assured the state to approve Rs 100 crore under Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and Setu Bandhan scheme.
Meanwhile, the observatory towers and the viewer gallery atop the Zuari bridge will be built in the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode at a cost of Rs 280 crore.
Access to the gallery will be by the water route by boat and visitors will be taken up to the tower/gallery by a capsule lift.
"This project will bring Goa international fame," Gadkari said even as he suggested tourism-related activities there such as a 'sound and light' show.
Gadkari also had a word of advice for the Sawant-led government in Goa suggesting engagement of international consultants to ideate and plan infrastructure for tourists along the State's highways.
Sawant who also spoke at the event, meanwhile, claimed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had spent over Rs 25,000 crore in the last ten years to improve Goa's roads even as he thanked Gadkari for the spend.
