PANJIM: Deputy Speaker and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said the State government would have to reconsider the proposal for a bypass road from Calangute to Sinquerim if the arterial Calangute-Candolim road was to be decongested.
Lobo told reporters that a bypass traversing the interior areas of Calangute and Candolim had been proposed in the draft Outline Development Plan (ODP) by North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA), but was dropped from the notified ODP 2025 after farmers and citizens expressed concerns over it cutting through fields.
“Looking at the traffic and constant congestion, the bypass is the only solution as the existing Calangute-Candolim road cannot be widened further. Traffic is going to keep rising and if the bypass is not built, it is going to be a major problem in the coming years,” Lobo said.
He also said that the bypass would have to be built on stilts so that agricultural activities were not affected. “Around Rs 300 crore will be needed for land acquisition and construction of the bypass on stilts. Funding will not be a problem as it will come from the Centre under the coastal tourism circuit development scheme,” he said.
