the goan I network
MARGAO
Public Works Department Minister Sudin Dhavlikar seemed unclear on how far the government can go to accommodate the people of Salcete, including TCP Minister Vijai Sardedsai, who are demanding construction of the Western bypass on stilts along the flood plains of River Sal.
Otherwise, consider this. On June 28, 2017 - PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar says that the government has approved construction of 3.5 km stretch of the Western bypass on stilts passing through the flood plains of Salcete.
December 13, 2017 - The PWD Minister took everyone by surprise when he announced at Raia on Wednesday that the government has accorded approval for the bypass on stilts on a stretch of only 350 meters.
Even as TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai has taken up cudgels now for the construction of the bypass on stilts in the low-lying areas of Mungul and Comba, the PWD Minster insisted that the government has approved 350 meter bypass on stilts. Even as Dhavlikar said the proposal has been sent to the centre for a final nod, he appealed to the people not to agitate on the issue without a study.
When the media drew his attention to the fact the TCP Minister has now joined the bandwagon in supporting the people's agitation, Dhavlikar shot back, "Vijai is now part and parcel of the government. If there's any hindrance or any problem, Vijai should discuss the issue with the government. If Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco can get work done by being in the opposition, Vijai can do much more because he is in our team running the government. I am confident he will discuss the matter with everyone, including the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, on how best to address the issue".
To another question, the Minister said he is ready to have a meeting with the people at the South Goa District Collectorate on the contentious Western bypass issue. "Union Surface Minister Nitin Gadkari is the final authority on the issue," he stated.
Margao-Ponda in 20 mins after four-laning, says Sudin
MARGAO: PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar has said it will not take more than 20 minutes to travel between Margao and Ponda with the government planning a six-lane Borim bridge and linking the two towns with a four-lane road, even as he inaugurated hot-mixing of the Borim-Tembi-Raia stretch of the state highway on Wednesday.
Conceding that the Arlem-Borim four-lane state highway has a number of accident spots, Dhavlikar said he has directed senior PWD officials to sit with the local MLAs, Sarpanchas, ZP members before implementing measures to remedy the accident-prone zones.
Launching the hot-mixing work in the presence of local MLA Reginaldo Lourenco and senior PWD officials at Tembi-Raia, the PWD Minister said the tender for the six-lane Borim bridge will be floated in January, adding that work on the four-lane Arlem-Borim stretch of the state highway will be completed by February, 2018. While the Borim-Tembi stretch of four-lane hot-mixing work will cost the government Rs 4.5 crore, an equal amount of money will be spent on the Raia-Arlem stretch of the four-lane road. He said hot-mixing work on the Raia-Arlem stretch will commence after the laying of the new 18 MLD capacity 1.5 km water pipeline, which will be connected to Cortalim as well as Borim and Shiroda. "I had given an assurance to the local MLA Reginaldo Lourenco that work on the Borim-Arlem road will be complete by December. There's been a 20-day delay because of the heavy traffic movement in view of the construction of the Zuari bridge. This would be complete by February," he said.
