VRISHANK MAHATME
With no takers for the Miramar footbridge just opposite to the Sharda Mandir School, the huge steel structure, built at the cost of over Rs 1 crore, has been left unused for the last several years.
Now with the recent concretisation and widening of the road below, the footbridge’s foundation pillar has become a hindrance as it is in the middle of the road and poses danger to people commuting on that stretch.
The pillar that was on the sidewalk for last few years is now right in the middle of the road after it was widened by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC).
“This footbridge column is posing danger as it is in the middle of the road, especially during night since the vehicles can hit the column in the absence illumination on the stretch due to the beautification work. The CCP must remove the structure immediately as it not being used by anyone and is a waste,” said Mohan Naik, a resident of Caranzalem.
The footbridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore by a Hyderabad-based private contractor on public private partnership (PPP) model in 2012 after an agreement with the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP). It was thrown open to the public on July 16, 2012 but since then it has become a white elephant as children along with their parents, in their representation to the CCP, have said that the bridge was too high and is inconvenience to children. The CCP is helpless since the issues connected to the project lie in the court and the council can neither demolish nor dismantle the footbridge.
“I would not like to comment on the issue as the matter is in the court but I can tell that the CCP had given advertising rights to the company at the time of agreement but later the CCP did not grant them permission and that is the reason the company went to court. The bridge, in my opinion, was constructed to put an end to the traffic jams caused because of the school,” said CCP Mayor, Surendra Furtado
“The CCP was also on the verge of dismantling the structure but now as the case is in court, we cannot touch the structure and it will remain till the verdict is out,” he added.
Meanwhile, CCP also said that parents of children studying at Sharda Mandir School, had also made several representations to remove the structure as it is too high and was difficult to climb.
