Repairs to last 20 years; farmers warn new bridge risks homes and farmland
MARGAO
Asserting the Borim Bridge will last 20 years and more as per the RTI information obtained from the PWD, affected khazan farmers of Loutolim have demanded the scrapping of the proposal to build a new high level Borim Bridge through the khazan fields.
The farmers condemned the criminal delay by the Government of Goa in repairs of the existing Borim Bridge, and refute its blatantly false statement that the repairs of the existing bridge are to last only until the proposed new bridge is built.
Chairman of Carbot, Cantor, Macasana & Bebdo Tenants Association Alberto Pinheiro along with Xavier Fernandes and Joaquim Gracias said the Government of Goa is proposing the new bridge to be constructed by destroying the best maintained and cultivated khazans of Goa and displacing hundreds of fully self-sufficient families dependent directly on the paddy and fish cultivation in the lands to be acquired.
Alberto said the estimate for the repairs of the existing bridge obtained from PWD under RTI Act states under para 4.4, b, “Design Life: 20 years”. “This means that the repairs of the existing bridge are designed to last for another 20 years, implying that there is no need for the proposed new Borim Bridge. We further suggest that timing restrictions for larger goods vehicles to ply only at lean hours at nights and easing of traffic congestions at Top Cola and Shri Sai Mandir shall allow the existing bridge to suffice for the next 20 years. We further suggest that the traffic patterns may be studied properly 15 years from now to evaluate actual requirements and to serve public interest with minimum destruction,” he added.
He further said the bridge shall displace hundreds more of indigenous Goan families, which include those cultivating adjoining khazans in Loutolim, farming families owning khazans and irrigated fields of Borim village, and a number of other affected by loss of their houses, agricultural lands, or other lands. “Most importantly, the new Bridge will cause environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale, which will be catastrophic for Goa’s food security and its fight against climate change,” he said.
Alberto pointed out that PWD records show that the repairs of the existing bridge were included in the Annual Plan 2023-24 approved by the Union Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways. “The two-year delay in carrying out these repairs, thereby endangering the safety and lives of citizens, is a criminal act by the Government of Goa, consistent with the blatant abuse of powers that has tainted the new bridge from its inception,” he said.
He added: “The new bridge proposal is purely for profits of coal corporations, with no concern for, or consultation with, the affected local communities, based upon a blatantly irrelevant and inflated traffic study and arbitrary decision-making, and flouting all legal and procedural mandates.”
Further pointing out that farmers have repeatedly written to the government without any replies, and have now challenged the acquisition proceedings at the High Court, he said the farmers have vowed to never allow the anti-public and anti-national project and we shall take all steps to protect Goa and the future generations from this devastating proposal.
“We demand that the government take all the above facts into consideration and bows down to public interest by dropping the proposal to construct a new bridge, thereby preventing the catastrophe and irreversible destruction that the new bridge shall bring,” he warned.
