SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The gloves are off. The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Mayor Rohit Monserrate has made a no holds barred charge on Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sanjit Rodrigues accusing him of negligence in carrying out Smart City works.
Speaking to reporters after the downpour on Saturday, Monserrate squarely blamed the Smart City officials for the mess and alleged that they were keeping the works incomplete.
He said, “Every area has been flooded. Any area where the Smart City work has been done is flooded. We have been raising this issue for the last one month. Two weeks back we had asked them to start the work but that work too has not commenced. Certain works they have started but drains are not cleaned. They have paved the road, hot mixed it but they have not cleaned the road. This is an issue."
“What has happened in the first rain, we do not want to happen it again. For the no fault of Corporation of City of Panaji, we have to listen from the people. We have to carry out cleaning again. The mud from the projects has gone back to the drains. The shopkeepers are irritated and so are we. You can imagine how much Smart City officials care about the problems of the people. The Smart City officials will have to complete their projects and clear the flood points,” Monserrate said.
However, reacting to the accusations Sanjit Rodrigues said, “This is not the time to blame anybody. Mayor has his views and we respect that. We are working together and all agencies have come together. Panjim has to get benefits of the work. I can say that we are putting best part efforts. We have understood gravity of the situation and all efforts are being made to see that Panjim gets benefits of the Smart City works.''
He said, “Heavy rains have delayed the Smart City works. But time extension has not been granted. We have understood where our focus lies. We are focused on clearing the bottlenecks at various intersections of drains and roads. Our focus will be on that. Ofcourse work on roads and pavements will go on. A renewed stress has been given on connecting drains. There are a couple of stretches where work has been delayed because of moisture level. One or two contractors who have delayed the work have been pulled up. Some action is being proposed."
As it was expected, just an hour of rainfall on Saturday exposed the shoddy and haphazard work being carried out by Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) in the capital city.
The heavy morning downpour pushed mud into the gutters and flooded critical parts of the city, bringing traffic in parts of the city to a standstill. The half complete drainage system done by Smart City workers was rendered useless.
