The Telaulim-Varca bridge over River Sal was inaugurated with much fanfare a few years ago.
It serves an important link for villagers over River Sal in Salcete and made life easy. But sadly, the bridge lacks maintenance.
The railing seen in photo on either side is corroded. There has not been maintenance carried out since the bridge was thrown open for public.
I am sure this is just one example and there must be many such bridges that have not been properly maintained.
I want somebody to answer my following queries. Which department is responsible for maintenance of such bridges? We have forty so-called honorable MLAs, who claim to work for development, then why are our bridges in such a miserable state?
We have heard, in the recent past, of some people making a hue and cry to change Portuguese roads name in Goa, but unfortunately have never raised their voices over weak bridges that were built during the Portuguese era.
One recent example is the Sanvordem tragedy where innocent lives were lost.
I hereby request the concerned authorities to maintain Telaulim Varca bridge railings after monsoon, or else soon it will not be safe for the users. We all know that our elected representatives will not hesitate and simply erect new railings of substandard quality, with their commission intact, with tax payers’ money.
