The tale of 2 bridges: Moira needs urgent repairs, Mapusa needs widening

Team Herald 

MAPUSA: Many bridges in Goa, which form a vital part in connecting to the National Highways, either need repairs or have to be replaced with new ones.

Some of the bridges built during the Portuguese regime are still strong but the increase in traffic cannot often serve the purpose because the European rulers had built them keeping in mind the traffic in those times, perhaps some 10 years later.

One of bridges is the small bridge in the village of Moira which connects Valpoi and Bicholim to the Mapusa town. Commuters make use of this bridge because of the shorter distance to Mapusa. This bridge takes so much of load that every year big gaps are created between the connecting road and the actual bridge itself. The government gives the bridge a cosmetic treatment which disappears sooner than expected. This temporary repair is done to avoid constructing a new bridge. The cosmetic treatment gives the commuters a temporary relief and the gap keep widening posing danger to vehicles specially the two-wheelers which are often caught off guard.

This bridge was inaugurated in the year 1978. Almost 40 years have passed and the load it bears has increased manifold. The Moira villagers now live in fear that it may collapse and leave them cut off from the Mapusa town where most of them come to do business. The famous Moira bananas come from this village and are in great demand during the Mapusa Friday market.

Villagers feel that the bridge needs a permanent solution and not temporary repairs which have to be carried out every six months due to the heavy traffic which increases every single day. This small bridge also connects Moira to the village of Bastora.

This issue is often brought up in the gram sabhas of the village panchayat. The last time it came up for discussion at the gram sabha was on July 24, last year. A resolution was passed during the sabha and the Moira Panchayat had written to the PWD Mapusa requesting them to look into the matter. However, the panchayat has not received any reply in this regard.

Sarpanch of Moira Panchayat Santosh Chari told Herald, “We took up this issue at the gram sabha in July 2016 and within two months we had sent a resolution to PWD asking them that the Moira bridge needs urgent repair. But till date we haven't received any feedback from PWD. Since so many months have elapsed, I will follow it up again soon”.

PWD’s Assistant Engineer Satyendra Bhobe, when contacted had this to say. “This bridge is in good condition but the problem is that the expansion joints are corroded due to which a gap has formed. As a temporary solution, we have filled up the gap but to solve the problem permanently the expansion joints need to be replaced which cannot be done by a local contractor. We have to get a contractor from outside the state since none of our local contractor is well versed with this kind of work. We will send out report to higher authorities in this regards”.

A similar situation is witnessed at the Mapusa tar bridge which needs to be rebuilt. This bridge was constructed in the year 1960 and later destroyed in a bomb blast by the Portuguese when they were forced to leave Goa after the Indian Army took over the then Union territory in 1961. This bridge is closed for heavy vehicles as per the rules of Mapusa Municipal Council. But the bridge is still being used by buses, trucks and tempos to enter and exit Mapusa town.

The bridge is very narrow and allows only one vehicle to pass at a time. There is always a line of vehicles on either side of the bridge. This congestion increases during the peak hours since this road is closer to the St Jerome’s (Milagres) church and also to the Mapusa market. The two-wheelers, who always appear to be in a hurry, make it more difficult for the vehicles to pass as they try to zig zag their way often causing accidents.

With the digging of the roads for the sewerage pipes, the situation has worsened and residents have now to also bear the dust which is raised due to the numerous vehicles which use this stretch of the road. 

The villagers of Moira and the commuters to Mapusa hope that the new government will find a solution to solve these issues.