The footbridge at Miramar, constructed a decade ago, for facilitating safe crossing of school children of Sharada Mandir school, has proved to be no more than a white elephant and a colossal wastage of public money from day one. It is unfortunate that a proper assessment of the footbridge for its purpose and utility was not done by taking into consideration the views of parents before rushing into the construction of the overbridge. The bridge at present is in a precarious condition because of poor maintenance and corrosion of the bridge structure. Moreover, it serves no useful purpose for pedestrians or school chidren, besides being a danger to motorists on the busy Miramar -Dona Paula stretch. It is therefore advisable for the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) to take immediate steps to dismantle the bridge, instead of waiting for the structural stability reports from the Goa Engineering College (GEC) . We cannot afford to take chances and risk precious lives.
