Captured by : Kathy Fernandes
CANACONA
A minor landslide on the lone culvert-bridge has endangered motorists and commuters along the Agonda-Canacona road at Dumane.
The culvert-bridge at Dumane connects Agonda with the rest of Canacona taluka and the route witnesses considerable movement by locals and tourists. There are fears that the weakened portion may give way and lead to a serious mishap.
According to locals, passers-by noticed the landslide while vehicles were crossing the weak culvert-bridge on the Dumane river towards Canacona side on Wednesday.
“Mud was seen giving away and falling into the river. Soon, some people stood guard and even placed some stones on the extreme left corner of the culvert bridge as a warning to unsuspecting motorists from Agonda, who were proceeding towards Canacona,” said the source.
“There is every danger that the remaining portion of mud at the site may also give and the entire culvert-bridge may collapse,” the source added.
This culvert-bridge had been constructed soon after liberation and has been long considered an accident-prone zone due its location at a sharp turn on both sides. Several vehicles have plunged into the rivulet in the past, causing many fatalities and injuries to unsuspecting motorists.
Following hue and cry by residents of Agonda, authorities laid rumblers on either side of the culvert-bridge to warn motorists and while this has led to a sharp decline it has failed to eliminate mishaps at the site.
The PWD had even proposed another bridge-culvert ahead along the route and with straighter approach roads.
The foundation stone for this project had been laid by Deputy Chief Minister Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes a year ago, but the project quickly ran into problems and the work was halted after a landlord along the Keri-Agonda side reportedly objected to acquisition of his land for the approach road.
