The latest to join the list of badly potholed roads in Goa, is the prestigious ‘Atal Setu’ bridge, which is showing wear and tear and frequent occurrence of potholes, even before the expiry of the guarantee and defect liability period. There is nothing surprising about it, knowing very well the poor workmanship and the substandard materials used in the construction of roads in Goa. If the cause of potholes on the bridge is now found to be the poor bonding of the waterproofing material and the bitumen used, then why were no laboratory tests carried out before the construction, to ascertain the suitability of the materials on Goa roads, taking into account the heavy rainfall and temperature variations. If there was any such doubt, the expertise of IIT, Madras and others in the field should have been taken before the start of the work, and not at this stage, when the damage has already been done. Special care should have been taken, keeping in mind the importance of the bridge and its pride of place in the state’s capital city of Panaji.
