OLD GOA
With monsoons over a month away, parishioners of Immaculate Conception Chapel at Chimbel interacted with PWD highways officials to highlight the problem of flooding occurring in the chapel due to the work on the NH4A road widening.
They have requested the officials to spell out the solution, so that a similar problem doesn’t occur this year as well.
At a meeting convened outside the chapel on Wednesday, the villagers pointed out that flooding occurred in the chapel during the last monsoon as water gushed in due to clogging of drainages.
JE Prasad Gaonkar said as a permanent solution to the problem, the PWD has chalked out a plan wherein two separate storm water drains would be built on both the sides of the NH4A road, so that the flow is distributed evenly.
“One of the storm water drains will pass inside the compound wall of the chapel and we require permission from the chapel committee to go ahead with the work,” said Gaonkar, while informing that the drain would be a 1 metre drain with concrete slabs on top.
“If the chapel committee permits for the work to commence, it would take a month’s time to complete the drain, just ahead of the monsoon,” he added.
However, a parishioner John Lobo asked the officials to submit a plan of the same, after which it would be discussed with all the members of the chapel committee, and only then the necessary permission would be given.
Agreeing to the proposal, Gaonkar said a copy of the plan would be submitted to the committee on Friday.
Lobo also asked the officials to submit a plan of the flyover bridge with entry and exit points for the Chimbel locals, which also the officials agreed to provide on Friday.
Gaonkar also informed that there will be a roundabout near the road leading to Milroc, from where there will be two ramps connecting the flyover bridge which will serve as entry and exit points for the villagers.
“There will be two flyover bridges which will be interconnected,” said Gaonkar, while stating that work on one flyover bridge has already commenced and work on the other will commence once all the pending issues pertaining to rehabilitation of the affected are resolved.
“Both the flyover bridges will be replicas of each other,” he added.
Executive engineer Ulhas Kerkar, former MLA Victor Gonsalves and others were present.
