This is with reference to the news report ‘ Atal Setu will be assessed by IIT-Madras : Minister’ (TGE, May 19). In the first place , it is a crying shame that Goa’s prestigious ‘Atal Setu’ cable-stayed bridge has become the victim of wear and tear and frequent potholes even before the guarantee period, due to the non-judicious use of a waterproofing material that has poor bonding with the bitumen used. The question then that naturally arises is why no preliminary laboratory tests were conducted to ascertain the suitability of the materials used. Why was the expertise of IIT-Madras not taken earlier instead of waiting till the damage is done. Secondly, had the PWD been more conscientious about its duties, we would not have witnessed the bad state of our Goa roads. We have been given plenty of false promises of pothole -free roads by former PWD ministers, but our roads unfortunately continue to remain in a pathetic state. Now, the promise of a new machine to fill up potholes during the monsoon appears to be another gimmick by the newly appointed PWD minister Nilesh Cabral to assuage ruffled feathers.
