PANJIM: With the digging of roads continue for construction of smart roads and laying of sewer lines, businessmen on Friday complained of having suffered loss in their business due to road closures in the capital city.
The road stretch leading from Bal Bhavan to Caculo Mall, Madhuban Circle to Caculo Mall and also the stretch from Tonca to Caculo Mall are closed for vehicular traffic for nearly last six months.
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“Business is down by 75 per cent; my income is so low that I am struggling to pay salary to my employees,” said Naushad Ali, who runs a hotel at St Inez.
A manager of a showroom selling electronic goods and services said that the walk-in customers have dropped by 80 per cent and went on to claim that the monthly turnover of the showroom has dropped from Rs 15 lakh to just Rs 5 lakh per month.
“Everybody here is affected, business is almost zero. I don’t want to blame anybody but I request the authorities to expedite and complete the works at the earliest,” Jethu Singh, a proprietor of a cellphone shop said.
Ravindra Poojari, proprietor of Sai General Store situated at St Inez said that his business is severely affected due to the closure of the road.
“My business has dropped by 50 per cent as many people who used to come by cars have stopped visiting the store since the road is closed,” he said.
The development of smart roads is being carried out under Smart City Mission by the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) from Bal Bhavan to Caculo Mall road stretch.
Civil works such as reconstruction of road pavement crust, storm water drain, utility crossing chambers, foot path and landscape works are being carried out.
Replacement of water supply lines, sewer lines, electrical and gas lines are also part of the project.
“There is no proper coordination. The agencies executing the work do not coordinate with the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP). They should inform us at the time of digging the roads so that we get the things organised by speaking to concerned authorities including the police,” said CCP Commissioner Agnelo Fernandes.
GSUDA Member Secretary Gurudas Pilarnekar said that it will take at least till June 2023 to complete the ongoing works on all stretches near Caculo Mall.
“We are monitoring the smart road works, most probably by June this year it will be completed. People will get some relief as the road stretch from Bal Bhavan to Caculo Mall will be thrown open within next 10 days,” he said.
The Imagine Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) has approved construction of two smart roads, the second being from Old Patto Bridge to Four Pillars junction, a stretch of 1.4-km, which will be undertaken at a later stage. Both the works will be executed by the GSUDA at a cost of over Rs 128 crore on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.
