Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) on Sunday demanded that the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar should come out clear and declare whether piers 4 and 5 of the Zuari Bridge are safe or have developed cracks.
The Congress also asked the chief minister an assurance that he would take the responsibility if the bridges collapsed. If further questioned whether the State disaster management team was in place to tackle any incident.
Addressing the media, GPCC President Girish Chodankar said, “The technology used in the Zuari Bridge that is Balanced Cantilever Press Stressed concrete is now outdated. The chief minister has to come out clear and declare that piers 4 and 5 have developed cracks or whether the cracks have widened or it is absolutely safe. We also want an assurance from him whether he would take responsibility in case of a collapse.”
He said, “The Bridge connects North and South Goa and Parrikar should come out clear whether the bridge is safe for use or not. We are not doing any politics here; we are concerned with the people.”
PWD Minister Ramakrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar last Monday had maintained that the Zuari Bridge is absolutely safe for travellers, appealing to the people not to fall for rumours being spread through social media.
He had said that a team of PWD engineers have carried out an inspection of the Zuari Bridge in the wake of a fake video on social media that allegedly showed cracks on the surface of the bridge.
