Team Herald
MARGAO: Locals of Chandor-Cavorim have reacted strongly to the announcement by South Western Railway (SWR) that from May 1, the Railway crossing gate at Chandor that connects to the Chandor Church circle and Guirdolim junction will be closed permanently for road traffic. Commuters have been directed to use the underpass instead.
Blaming PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral, former Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias and Guirdolim panchayat for deliberately ignoring the objections of the Chandor-Cavorim villagers to the underpass, the locals alleged that there will be traffic related problems due to the closure of the railway level crossing.
“When we checked the size of the prefabricated RCC boxes to be used for the underpass, the height was only 2.68 metres, instead of the promised 3.2 metres. The width was too less, for barely two cars could pass, denying the people the footpaths which were promised on either side,” said Felix Furtado, Chandor resident and prominent anti-double tracking activist. He added that demands for a pedestrian subway were also ignored.
“As a result, only two wheelers and cars can pass. It will be dangerous for school children as well as elderly people to use the underpass. EMRI ambulances, fire brigade, buses arranged for weddings and funerals cannot pass. There’s also an accident-prone junction at the Guirdolim end. Furthermore, the underpass gets flooded in heavy downpour as the drainage is not capable of draining out large quantities of water quickly,” Felix added.
Reacting to Cabral’s statement that the recently inaugurated rail over bridge in Chandor would solve their problems, Furtado added that the bridge was meant to shorten the traveling time for coal trucks through Goa.
