Team Herald
PANJIM: Contrary to the assurances of PWD Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar 84 days ago that the Zuari Bridge was safe for vehicular traffic, it has emerged that his department has not carried out enough tests to ensure that the bridge is safe and that it is clueless about the state of the bridge.
In a shocking reply to an RTI filed by Aquem (Margao) resident Grenville Dias, Goa’s Public Works Department has revealed that between January 10, 2018 and September 30, 2018 the department had carried out 11 inspections but no testing of the 35-year-old Zuari bridge.
The bridge, which is built in the saline Zuari River and is exposed to strong winds and heavy corrosion, has been under the scanner for the past few months. “The ‘tests’ that PWD has been claiming to have carried out are not adequate enough and all that has been carried out has been in the form of visual inspection,” Dias claims.
The RTI also reveals that an alarmed Chief Engineer (NH, R&B) of Goa PWD, L P Parsekar, had drawn the attention of Chief Engineer (Zone – 4), Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Govt of India last year on August 16 and this year on June 8, 2018 that “significantly there is a level difference of about 1 inch at the fingertip location of Pillar 3 & Pillar 4” and “that transverse cracks have appeared in the wearing coat at several locations along the bridge and are prominently seen”. The cracks have been since sealed.
The RTI also reveals that the local office of National Highway Administration at PWD Complex, Fatorda had on July 5, 2018 written to the Regional Officer of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways at Mumbai stating that the Zuari bridge “is not in very good structural shape” and “It is also reported that vibrations are far in excess of values permitted for such structures”.
The letter notes that as a mark of precaution, vehicles above 12 tonnes gross vehicle weight stood banned “but, however, all types of passenger buses continued to ply including 20 tonne-8 tyre Volvo or equivalent buses”. This dangerous violation of the ban was happening with the knowledge of the PWD Minister.
On September 3, this year Dhavalikar admitted that last year upon inspections the government also allowed the movement of buses up to 16.5 tonnes on the bridge keeping ‘public interest’ in mind.
Interestingly, despite the danger and public outcry earlier this year, NHAI Goa again sought a complete ban on all vehicles above 12 tonnes gross vehicle weight in its letter of July 5, 2018 shockingly seeking exemption of regular route buses ferrying passengers and weighing up to 16.5 tonnes.
What is weird is how could NHAI seek an exemption for regular route buses even if locally plying Kadamba buses weigh more than 12 tonnes? “How can you ban vehicle above 12 tonnes and at the same time allow buses such as Kadamba buses that weigh more than 12 tonnes just because they are plying on regular routes?” asks Dias, the engineer activist.
The RTI has also exposed that despite the peculiar nature of the location and environmental and geographical conditions of the location of the existing Zuari Bridge, PWD has not been carrying out stringent tests to ensure that the frail and crumbling bridge is 100 per cent safe. In fact, PWD avoided answering the question of whether the Zuari bridge was “structurally deficient”. And in an answer to whether the bridge was “functionally obsolete”, replied in the negative.
The information had been sought under Section 7 (1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 specifically related to life and liberty provision which states that in concerns of life or liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within 48 hours of the receipt of the request. Yet, PWD took 37 days to furnish the information. “My prayer was in my own interest and the interest of Goa as every day thousands of commuters use the existing Zuari Bridge and hence the urgency to provide the information. Yet this delay clearly exposes PWD’s callousness in ensuring the safety of the bridge and revealing the information on time,” Dias said.
