MARGAO
A section of the decades-old footbridge, an important access point to Majorda beach, collapsed late Friday night.
Tourism stakeholders have raised concerns that if the entire structure fails, access to the beach could be blocked unless repairs are made or a new bridge is built urgently.
Sarpanch Anthea Pereira, Deputy Sarpanch Creson Antao, and other panchayat members inspected the damaged footbridge on Saturday morning. They decided to prioritise repairs.
Deputy Sarpanch Creson said that the Panchayat contacted the engineer from the Block Development Office to inspect the footbridge and provide cost estimates for repairs and the construction of a new bridge.
“The Panchayat has decided in principle to either repair the bridge or build a new one. We will know the cost once the engineer prepares the estimate,” Creson explained.
While Creson assured that the Panchayat would prioritise the work, he added that repairs or the construction of a new footbridge would only begin once the tendering process is completed and the contractor is awarded the work.
