Canacona: With monsoon round the corner, activists from Canacona descended at the iconic award winning KTC bus stand and thatched some open gaps with dry coconut leaves. They added that this is being done to draw the attention of the authorities as the roof lies open at many places.
The bus stand was built 15 years ago and since then it has not seen any types of repair works. There are about 25-30 shops leased out to various people for commercial purposes which generates a revenue of close to 3 lakhs a month. KTC has been criticized for failing to look after the upkeep of the bus stand.
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The studs used to affix the plastic roofing sheets have rusted and if not replaced immediately, there is a fear that all of the sheets might blow away in the coming months. There is a fear that someone might get hurt if the sheets fall down in the process.
The design of the bus stand might look aerodynamic but the design of the roof of the bus stand with a curvature, traps wind during storms causing the roofing sheets to blow from the centre, an engineer explained.
Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes said that the file to repair the bus stand was moved in December last year. “First two months we lost due to code of conduct for ZP elections and after that the COVID-19 lockdown was enforced. In spite of the government offices partially functioning I saw that the tendering process was completed and the tender will be opened on May 4,” he said, while adding that the speed of the work would depend on the availability of roof sheets’ stock.
After thatching the roof at a couple of places , activists led by youth leaders Janaradan Bhandari, Sandesh Teleikar and Mahadev Desai marched to the Canacona Deputy Collectors office and demanded quick action.
Pritidas Gaonkar, Dy Collector, said he has written to KTC about the condition of the bus stand and its implications in terms of safety of the users if not repaired before monsoon.
“If the roof is not repaired before the monsoon, I will recommend the temporarily closure of the bus stand till it is repaired as the safety of commuters and others using it is paramount,” Gaonkar added.
Meanwhile, Canacona police booked a case against the activists for forming a group with common intentions without maintaining social distances between themselves and thatching the roof of the KTC bus stand at Chaudi, thereby doing an act of getting together known likely to spread Coronavirus infections, and also violating section 144 contravening the provisions of section 269 read with 188 IPC.
