TEAM HERALD
VASCO: South Goa Collector Venancio Furtado and a team of senior police officials visited the Dabolim airport on Thursday and inspected traffic movement from airport junction to Shantinagar junction.
Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida, who accompanied Furtado along with Traffic DySP Mapane, Vasco Traffic PI Sudeah Narvekar and Vasco PI Rupendra Shetgaonkar, told Herald that Furtado had inspected the traffic movement from airport junction to Shantinagar junction early morning.
“I showed him the traffic route from the New International Terminal Building at Dabolim airport and brought to his notice how the four-lane highway from airport junction to Shantinagar junction will be a death trap,” said Almeida.
When contacted, Furtado said he would need to visit the site again, as there was less movement of traffic along the four-lane highway from airport junction to Shantinagar junction. “There was less movement of traffic, as there were no flights in the morning and I will have to make another visit to take the stock of the situation,” he said.
When asked whether his visit also took note of the collapsed retaining wall at the NITB, Furtado said Mormugao Deputy Collector Gaurish Shankwalkar is looking into the matter and he is waiting the report.
When contacted, Sankwalkar said he is in the process of compiling the report which will be sent to the Collector and he along with the officials of VPDA, BDO and Chicalim Panchayat secretary inspected the site.
“The officials of the four-lane highway authority have already issued a notice to the airport authority to stop construction of the wall along the four-lane highway as the property belongs to the four-lane highway authority,” he said.
“As per the construction order given to the contractor by the airport authority, it is not a retaining wall but the construction of a compound wall,” added Sankwalkar.
When contacted Airport Director M Suresh to know the estimated loss of the collapsed wall, the director said the contractor has not yet handed over the construction to the airport authority and the contractor is liable to construct the wall again at his own cost.
“The airport authority has not suffered any loss and the contractor has started to construct the wall and it will be completed in next few days,” he added.
