MARGAO
When PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral descended at the controversial Navelim-Benaulim bridge site at Sinquetim on Monday, he had to grapple with a simple question from Navelim and Benaulim locals opposing the project “ how can you build a 12-metre wide bridge when the village internal roads on both sides of the bridge are hardly three metres wide?
For a moment, Cabral struggled for an answer to the query on the bridge which was proposed more than a decade ago, even as the decade-and-half-old saga over former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao’s dream project continues to date, with residents of Sinquetim-Navelim opposing the bridge and the government mobilizing its men and machinery to complete the balance work and throw open the bridge for traffic.
Residents of Sinquetim-Navelim have been opposing the bridge from day one on the ground that it will result in the demolition of houses and structures along the Sinquetim-Nagmodem stretch to make way for the 12-metre-wide bridge.
The PWD Minister descended at the bridge site precisely to address the concerns and allay the apprehensions of the local populace that the bridge project will not lead to the demolition of houses.
Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuenkar and his Benaulim counterpart Venzy Viegas along with former Navelim MLA & minister Avertano Furtado, Adv Byron Rodrigues and residents interacted with the PWD minister in a bid to find a solution to the imbroglio.
Adv Byron maintained that the government should honour the affidavits filed with the National Green Tribunal (NGT), including the stand that the government will comply with the environmental issues and restrict the use of the bridge.
The Benaulim MLA asked the PWD Minister whether the government can save the money to be spent on the bridge by diverting the funds on another project. In the alternative, Venzy gave the option to explore the possibility of restricting the bridge only to two-wheelers and light motor vehicles.
“We have two more bridges, one at Telaulim and the other at Benaulim (western bypass) and the need for the Sinquetim-Benaulim bridge may not serve any purpose. Moreover, the presence of more bridges will cause confusion amongst the motorists as a result of which it may lead to congestion on the narrow village roads,” he said while underscoring the need to ensure the village's sanity is not disturbed.
Former minister Avertano Furtado reminded the Minister that Navelim plays host to around 7,000 school and college students, and the increasing traffic is already creating bottlenecks at Nagmodem, saying the situation may further aggravate upon completion of the Sinquetim-Benaulim bridge.
Sinquetim resident George Barretto pointed out that the controversial bridge was being pushed down on the people of Navelim and Benaulim when there was no need for a bridge, even as he reiterated his demand for scrapping the bridge.
Cabral, however, gave a patient hearing to the people and sought to allay their concerns. “I have come here to address issues such as the non-payment of compensation to the owners for the acquisition of land for the approach roads to the bridge and other issues."
“There’s a suggestion to restrict the size of the road to 1.5 metres to bar entry of heavy vehicles on the bridge. We will work out a solution, but the bridge work cannot be stopped. The issues raised by the people will be addressed first,” he said.
No power to decide on scrapping of bridge project: PWD Minister
MARGAO
Stating that he has no power to decide on the scrapping of the Benaulim-Navelim bridge, PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral has said that the government has already spent an amount of Rs 4.65 crore on the bridge and has tendered the balance work at an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore.
Declining to comment on the demand to scrap the bridge, Cabral said he will take a call on the future of the bridge after a discussion with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and placing the matter at the Cabinet meeting.
“The bridge work is being monitored by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. There’s also a PIL in the High Court monitoring the matter. The bridge was tendered around 2008 and since then, an amount of Rs 4.65 crore has been spent on the construction. The government is a continuous process. They have suggested restricting the width of the road to 1.5 metres. I will study and come back to the people again,” Cabral added.
He promised the land losers to clear the compensation along with the interest from the date of land acquisition if the compensation is still not paid to date.
Finally, State Highway 8 to be notified as MDR 54
MARGAO
After a long-drawn struggle, the State Highway SH8, passing through Chandor from Margao, will be finally notified as Major District Road (MDR) 54.
Work on the Chandor bypass is also expected to be completed by January-end at a cost of Rs 15 crore. The railways have already constructed a bridge, and the Chandor bypass is expected to be thrown open for traffic in the first week of February.
Sources told The Goan that PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral has reportedly cleared the file for re-notification of the SH8 to MDR 54. A notification is likely to be issued soon.
Meanwhile, the PWD informed that work on the Chandor bypass will be completed by January-end. He, however, said that tarring and hot-mixing of the bypass will be taken up around May to facilitate the road to settle down.
Officials said the Chandor bypass road was tendered at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore. The 750-metre bypass road is around 7.5 metre-wide with shoulders and is built by the railways.
Govt working on how best to build western bypass, asserts Cabral
MARGAO:
Saying that the Benaulim villagers have made a fresh demand for the construction of the western bypass on stilts, PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral and the government is seized on the matter and is working on how best to build the bypass.
“The western bypass issue is being monitored by the National Green Tribunal and the High Court. After the representations received from the villagers, we have increased the water passes to 12 to ensure there is no water logging. But, since the people have made a fresh plea for construction of the bypass on stilts, we are working on how best to go about the job,” Cabral added.
