Chaos reigned supreme in the commercial capital, triggered by damaged roads and the closure of the submerged subway for traffic. A badly damaged around the MMC garden square. Santosh Mirajkar
Ruined roads paralyse Margao city
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
Life in the commercial capital was disrupted on Tuesday as traffic crawled on city roads throughout Tuesday with most of the roads that were dug for JICA sewerage works either sank or developed huge craters turning the roads unmotorable.
The situation was further aggravated as the Comba subway was closed for the second day Tuesday after one of the two water pumps installed at the subway failed, hampering pumping operation. The badly damaged roads and the closure of the Comba subway for traffic brought traffic to a virtual halt, with the entire city witnessing bumper-to-bumper traffic throughout Tuesday.
The water pumps installed at the subway upon directions from the disaster management agency brought a host of questions to the fore over the delay in repairing the faulty water pump and why the authorities did not procure and installed new pumps at the subway. The lone water pump failed to meet the requirements and the subway remained closed for traffic for the second day on Tuesday, hampering traffic movement.
Traffic crawled along the Margao Municipal garden square as the excavations carried out to lay the sewerage line sank rendering the road unmotorable. Craters had also surfaced all around the heart of the city affecting smooth traffic movement. The peak hours - at the beginning of school in the morning and in the afternoon, saw the city plunged into chaos.
Though the PWD and JICA was a week ago directed to constitute a dedicated cell to work round the clock with dedicated manpower and material, round the clock, the cell made its presence felt on the roads only around noon.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, who along with acting MMC Chairperson Doris Texeira and Councillor Major Masurkar, PWD engineers took a round of the city. Kamat ordered the PWD to procure a new water pump as a reserve at the subway in times of emergency.
Water logging was also seen at Calcondem near the open space where the cranes are parked. Water accumulation also hampered smooth flow of traffic near the Power House.
Fire services informed that a tree had crashed down on a house at Borda near B M service station, causing damage to the tune of Rs 15,000.
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