PANAJI
Ashoka Buildcon Ltd, a company engaged in the construction of the link road (NH-166 S) with a paved shoulder configuration to MOPA airport, has come under scrutiny due to safety concerns. The Public Works Department (PWD) observed that a damaged crane belonging to the company was abandoned at a location around the work site, which had been posing a significant risk to both the company’s construction personnel and railway operations.
In response to this report, District Magistrate (North Goa) Sneha Gitte directed the company to remove the damaged crane and relocate it to a safer alternative location within the next 48 hours. Failure to comply with this directive may result in further legal action, she warned, as the measure is crucial to ensuring the safety of not only the employees on the work site but also the smooth functioning of railway operations.
“There lies a damaged crane (Model HC 340) of capacity 500 MT at the site of the Six Lane Mopa Link Road (NH 166S) site at Pernem Taluka near Suke Kulan… it is informed by the PWD that the said damaged crane is obstructing the launch of I-Girders and casting of two slabs of ROB near Suke-Kulan (Railway KM 389/1-2) and further that the crane is posing a grave danger to the employees involved in the construction activity since the hydraulic control of the crane has been completely charred,” reads a report by the District Magistrate, citing PWD’s findings.
Claiming that the crane’s current location presented a significant safety concern and it was crucial to ensure the safety of the railway operations around and the smooth flow of the train traffic on the tracks; Gitte claimed it is a fit case under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and directed the company to remove the crane and shift it to an alternate location, within the time period set.
