the goan I network
CURCHOREM
They fear it may do little to prevent people from gaining access to the footbridge and risking their lives.
Admitting that signboards would be useful in warning public about the danger at the collapsed footbridge till it is completely dismantled, the Quepem deputy collector has said he would discuss the matter with PWD officials on Monday.
The Sanvordem footbridge had partially collapsed on May 18, claiming two lives and injuring over a dozen others, after onlookers had overloaded the weak and unused bridge despite the presence of barricades at the time.
Speaking to reporters while visiting the site hours after the collapse of the footbridge, PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar said the footbridge had been closed with barricades for the last four years.
“But people removed the barricades and crowded on the bridge to observe operations in search of a person who had jumped into the river to commit suicide,” Dhavalikar had said at the time. Then Sanvordem sarpanch Deepak Sawant had said people had not paid heed to safety.
Stating that the footbridge had been off limits to pedestrians for a number of years, Sawant had told The Goan on May 19 that the panchayat, “had even blocked access to the footbridge during Ganesh visarjan (immersion) time. But people don’t pay heed to all kinds of caution.”
A source at the Ponda PWD office also admitted that while measures have been taken to stop people from proceeding across the footbridge, similar measures were taken earlier as well, but people used to jump over a barricade and walk on the footbridge.
Following the collapse of the footbridge, the Sanvordem panchayat placed laterite stones barely 3-4 feet in height on both sides as a temporary measure to prevent access to the bridge.
In the absence of signboards to warn people at the site, the floating population and migrant workers unfamiliar with the place and the incident may have no clue about the danger ahead on the footbridge.
Admitting this possibility, Sawant told The Goan on Saturday that the Sanvordem panchayat had taken the initiative to pile stones at both ends to prevent access to the footbridge.
“But we are not sure if people will take these temporary walls seriously. People had crossed over barricades at the site in the past and so, they can easily climb over these stones and endanger their lives. Signboards are necessary to warn visitors and locals till the footbridge is fully dismantled,” said Sawant.
“But sadly, no such warning boards have been placed at the site,” said Sawant.
When contacted, Quepem Deputy Collector Prashant Shirodkar agreed to the importance of installing warning boards on both sides of the footbridge and said he would discuss the matter with PWD officials on Monday.
