TEAM HERALD
CORTALIM: The Cortalim fish market which was billed by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar as Matanhy Saldanha’s dream project has come to a virtual halt for almost three months.
The work on the Rs 9 crore project which began around February 2014 took off at a very fast pace, but thereafter the work has been on a start and stop mode.
The then chief minister Manohar Parrikar at the foundation laying ceremony in October 2013, which was the birthday of his close friend late Matanhy Saldanha, had assured that the work would start by November that year and the project would be completed within one year and that by October 2014 he would inaugurate the market complex.
Presently, there are only a few labourers working on the site and it is almost three months that centering plates have been fixed to cast the slab.
The engineer concerned of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) who is dealing with the project, Jude Carvalho, told Herald that the contractor had stopped the work and that they would write to the contractor in this connection.
When asked whether non-payment of the contractor’s bills could be one of the main reasons for the halt to the project, Carvalho said all the bills pertaining to the project had been paid to the contractor and only the current bill submitted around 15 days back had been pending which is within the rules.
However, according to sources, the contractor’s bill amounting to Rs 1.75 crore submitted in December 2014, are still pending.
While the completion of the complex has already missed the deadline, what has been intriguing the villagers is the government going ahead with new projects despite the work of the current projects dragging on and falling behind time. “What is the use of launching new projects when the existing projects are being delayed?” asked a vegetable vendor. With the monsoons approaching fast, the vendors, as well as the general public, would have to deal with problems faced at the makeshift market.
Cortalim MLA and Minister Alina Saldanha could not be contacted for comments.
