TEAM HERALD
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CHORAO: After frequent assurances from various politicians over a number of years, residents of Chorao have heaved a sigh of relief with the announcement that the long-pending bridge reducing the distance between the island and the capital city is merely a year away.
The proposed bridge will not only be a boon to residents of Chorao Island, but it will provide shorter connectivity for residents in the three talukas of Tiswadi, Bardez and Bicholim.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s assurance that the foundation stone for the long-pending bridge would be laid on April 11 (and not May 11 as was inadvertently mentioned in the Herald) was welcomed by residents, as it would also open the possibility of better infrastructure and development for the island and the rest of Mayem constituency.
It may be recalled that former MLA Krishna Kuttikar, who then headed the EDC at the time, had asked a Delhi-based company to conduct soil-testing work on five possible sites. After a detailed survey, the company has shortlisted the Chorao-Salvador do Mundo and Chorao-Pomburpa routes for the proposed bridge.
The issue, however dragged on for nearly 10 years, as residents were merely left to rely on assurances by various politicians.
In its manifesto for the 2012 assembly polls, the BJP had assured to accord top priority to the bridge and claimed that it would construct the bridge within two years of coming into power.
When Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar visited Chorao Island to inaugurate the repair work of the Kator Khazan Bundh on October 24, 2012, the residents reminded the chief minister of the pending project and he assured that the tender for the bridge would be floated by March.
In a bid to finalise the Chorao-Salvador do Mundo route, local MLA Anant Shet convened a joint meeting at Porvorim on November 7, 2012 and the meeting was attended by Chorao Sarpanch Divya Usapkar, all panchayat members, prominent residents of Chorao and Infrastructure Development RCC Consultant Dilip Kamat.
The consultant gave a detailed presentation on the proposed bridge and the Chorao-Salvador do Mundo route was later discussed and finalised in the village gramsabha.
“This bridge is will be totally different from any other bridge constructed in Goa so far,” said Kamat.
Providing details of the proposed bridge, Kamat said the bridge for the 350-metre wide river would be of sufficient height to facilitate the movement of barges and other vessels. “Approval has already been obtained from the Captain of Ports,” Kamat said.
The 12-metre wide bridge will permit two-way traffic as well as a 1-metre wide footpath on either side for pedestrians,” he added.
The proposed bridge towards Salvador-do-Mundo will connect near the Church, where traffic will then proceed towards Charmanos-Britona and near the Secretariat at Porvorim, before linking to the NH 17 highway.
The bridge towards Chorao will connect near the Madel Church and a new approach road will be constructed by acquiring land to connect to the Tikhazan Bridge and a bypass road will be constructed for motorists to proceed towards Bicholim.
According to Kamat, the estimated cost of the bridge is Rs 100 crore, while the cost for the approach and other link roads could be about Rs 200 crore.
