the goan I network
PANAJI
PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar on Monday hinted that a decision will have to be taken at some point in the near future to close a portion of the National Highway at Cortalim to facilitate work on the eight-lane Zuari bridge.
Asked to react on the uproar from several quarters over closure of the highway and diversion of traffic which The Goan broke last week, Dhavlikar said: “There can be no gain without pain.”
The minister, who was addressing a press conference at his official Altinho residence, however added no decision has been taken as yet to close the Cortalim-Kesarval stretch of the highway.
“A technical team of the PWD will examine the issue along with the technical team of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the least burdensome proposal will be opted for,” Dhavlikar said while asserting that MORTH has formally conveyed to the PWD the need to close the highway.
Dhavlikar said, 28-metres-long pre-cast beams which will support the deck of the bridge have to be erected and the closure of the road is absolutely necessary for safety reasons.
The best possible option will be exercised by the government after the technical teams of the Ministry and the PWD sit together come up with the exact requirements.
He said, at all costs the phase I of the bridge will be commissioned latest by December 19, 2019 and appealed to the public to bear the hardship of road closure.
Dhavlikar also said that the entire Rs 1500 crores cost of the bridge is being borne by the Centre and it is the bounden duty of the State government to facilitate the work.
“It is a futuristic project which will reduce traveling time between Panaji and Margao to 20-25 minutes,” Dhavlikar said, adding that it will make road communication in Goa comparable to world standards once completed.
MoU with Portugal
The Minister who just returned last week from an official tour to Portugal said, the MoU with the Portuguese government’s fully owned subsidiary for collaboration in the field of water supply and sewerage management will take effect from 2019 after a technical team from Portugal visits Goa in January.
Dhavlikar said, a technical team headed by PWD Principal chief engineer Uttam Parsekar will deliberate with the Portuguese team and work out the plan on how the technology transfer and collaboration will be set in motion on the ground in Goa.Assessment of the Selaulim and Opa plants for energy efficiency, work flow for recording operational data and putting in place software tools developed by them are some of the areas identified for collaboration during his visit to Portugal.
Another crucial area where the Portuguese company will help is to manage the rise in turbidity during the critical monsoon months, he said.
Besides Dhavlikar, Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma, Parsekar and senior engineers Milind Bhobe and Santosh Bhim Gouda were also part of the team that toured Portugal.
In the area of sewerage, Dhavlikar said the Portuguese company will bring in technology which will help decentralise functioning of the sewerage treatment plants.
Bikini comment clarification
PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, who recently returned from an official tour of Portugal, said his past comments critical of the Portuguese colonial regime in Goa and against use of bikinis by foreigners, were blown out of proportion and context.
Asked to react to criticism against his visit to Portugal in light of his past criticism of the country
Dhavlikar said, his past comments were blown out of proportion and also taken out of context.
Referring to his demand for an apology from Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa during his visit to Goa, Dhavlikar said the statement was made in context of destruction of infrastructure by the colonial forces on instructions from the country’s dictator Salazar in 1961.
