DR. JOE D’SOUZA
The third Mandovi Bridge has been symbolically thrown open to the public. Thousands of crores would be spend over the years by the tax payers of the country not only towards the construction of this bridge, but also in its upkeep, maintenance, serviceability along with the upkeep of the two bridges built earlier, which are today standing precariously, due to the naked fact that all the three infrastructural utilities are within stone throwing distance of one another. The people of Goa in particular and the country in general would be conned into believing that these bridges would be of great service for the common man of Goa particularly as they would be able to cut the cost and time to travel from North to the South of the state.
To add salt to injury, people of Panjim are in deep slumber: unaware that morbidity is growing alarmingly due to the rising levels of pollution in the city and also due to the unhygiene spelt earlier. I have repeatedly mentioned in these columns, the health surveys, and the medical fraternity have borne me out that enteric infections, physiological ailments, heart or kidney diseases are on the rise in the capital city.
In this essay, I will concentrate on the impact of the third Mandovi Bridge, the new building of Captain of ports on the Panjim jetty coming up soon against CRZ and environmental norms and the fast growing menace by the casinos and cruise boat activities on River Mandovi. The world over there are umpteen studies to suggest that one bridge is one too many, over any river at one location.
Everyday hundreds of garbage ridden bags are parachuted into the waters of Mandovi from cars, casinos and cruise boats.
The third bridge would activate, and increase such dumping by transit visitors, who would join locals in this religiously followed and uncurbed garbage dumping activities.
A serious study on the movement of the sediments, debris and sludge around the bridges would indicate the alarming growth of sulphate reducing bacteria, biofouling micro flora and fauna, concretivorous microorganisms capable of using, phosphorous carbon or nitrogen from the garbage and thereby destroying and degrading the underwater bridge structures and piers leading to its collapse and destruction of our property and precious lives and economy.
We have not learnt or studied as to why the first Mandovi bridge, named after our erstwhile Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram had collapsed on the very day he died. Whose death would our three bridges foretell as an environmental impact assessments of these gigantic structures, seems to be contemplated only after the bridges have been constructed.
Being a scientist myself, who has worked extensively for the R&D wing of Naval Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory at Fort, Mumbai before joining Bombay University and later Goa University, I can assert that the existing pollution of River Mandovi is accelerating the rusting, concrete dissolution, growth of biofoulers and infestation by marine borers beneath the surface waters, thereby destabilizing the bridges slowly but surely. Quality of steel or concrete spelt out does not matter as microorganisms are versatile in their action.
Being retired from University service, I am unable to carry out active experimental work myself but I do interact with the highly talented staff of GU as well as NIO and use the library off and on to understand the damage these iron rusting bacteria and concrete dissolving microbes could do, and to understand what we could do to help delay and stall the deterioration of the underwater structures of these bridges.
It is only after the bridge was built that L&T structural engineers have woken up to understand the damage the monsoon winds could play on the stability of the bridge which is over 300 feet above the sea level.
However, the underwater current variations, rate of flow of underwater sediments, impact of geo- chemical activities due to erosion, denudation or depositions in the subsurface waters around the three bridges is a totally neglected field of study by the government as well as the contractors.
Today, we see casinos and cruise boats not only destroying Mandovi but making Panjim a living hell, whereby crime, garbage, parking chaos, has increased by leaps and bounds.
Today, again the people of Goa are unaware and unconcerned that there is a big building coming up on the Captain of Port jetty, which would benefit casinos, cruise boat operators and further choke the DB Marg and MG Road in central Panjim. Sadly, whatever the government of the day does or undertakes is a law in itself and against public interests. The common man is more concerned about after whom bridges need to be named.
The Congress party, the main opposition party in Goa has fallen in the trap of political one-upmanship or jhumlas. They feel that naming bridges after Dayanand Bandodkar or Dr. Jack Sequeira would fetch them votes.
Nobody in the political circle are bothered about the harm the new Captain of Port building to be constructed against CRZ violations, mushrooming of casinos and cruise boats damaging Mandovi River and degrading the lives of the residents of Panjim particularly and Goans by and large. The negative fall-outs of the three bridges in a single location, needs to be seriously reflected upon.
Today, Goans seem to be obsessed about erection of statues and naming bridges, but is oblivious of the need to improve the quality of lives and livelihoods for Goans. Goans are migrating to Europe and migrants seem to shape Goa for the future. Would the statue-building Goans realize that statues, bridges and names would soon go away in Goa, just as Saddam Hussein’s was razed down in Iraq.
