PANAJI
The nightmare of roughing up through dust and navigating the dug up roads seems to have returned for residents and commuters in Panaji.
Contractors and workers have begun digging trenches on roads in some central locations of the city to resume work on Smart City projects and complete residual work before the March 31, 2025 deadline.
Trenches have been dug at least two four-arm junctions -- at Vishal Supermart and Don Bosco -- in the heart of the city on Saturday and Sunday.
Officials at the site told The Goan that work to connect the newly laid network of sewerage chambers to the old sewage system is in progress.
The work is expected to disrupt traffic in these areas, besides worsening the city's already deteriorating AQI levels due to dust pollution.
At several other locations roadside trenches have been dug where contractors are working on redesigning footpaths and laying interlocking tiles.
Panaji residents have been facing the brunt of the construction work related to Smart City projects for the last three years. Earlier this week, a group of citizens held a protest in the city where several green activists raised concerns over haphazard implementation of the work without any regard to safety of citizens.
The group also highlighted the deaths of at least four citizens due to the alleged negligence of contractors and the dust pollution caused by the continuous digging of the roads which they alleged has harmed the health of several senior citizens residing in the city.
