TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Hazard a guess what has come in the way of the opening of the “inaugurated” Rs 82 crore Assolna-Cavelossim bridge over River Sal for heavy and light traffic.
While the PWD has claimed that work on widening of the approach road stands completed since a fortnight now, seven electric poles standing right in the middle of the widened road have virtually scuttled movement of traffic on the bridge commissioned with much fanfare by PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar a month and half ago.
That’s not all. In an embarrassing revelation, the electric poles have been awaiting shifting for the last one week for want of a driver to operate the department crane. Sources in the power department revealed that power officials had requisitioned a crane from the Canacona office a week ago to shift the seven poles along the approach road to the Assolna-Cavelossim. The crane is presently stationed at the local sub-station, but cannot be operated for want of an operator.
Given the situation, the local electricity office has now drawn up plans to requisition a crane from the Curchorem office to shift the poles, indicating that there was no urgency displayed by the department concerned to get the electric poles shifted on a priority basis.
This assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the deadline of March 20 set by the PWD Minister to throw open the bridge for traffic. It’s now more than a month since the PWD Minister’s deadline has gone abegging, with the departments playing truant on the minor work.
