The new Western Bypass stretch namely Margao Western Highway of 11 kms is being built at a cost of over Rs 200 crores by NG Tarmat, a Mumbai-based joint venture.
The bypass stretch is being built in four parts — the Nuvem–Verna stretch and the Seraulim-Mungul-Nuvem stretch, Navelim-Fradilem and Navelim-Dramapur stretch.
Herald threads along the Navelim-Fradilem stretch wherein the highway exits towards the Navelim NH 17 highway connecting to Dramapur. The entire project is aimed at easing Margao city of its traffic and creating a connect between Panjim and Vasco to the south of Goa bypassing the Margao city.
“Firstly the highway project was to commence in the year 2015 and complete in 2017 but the project has had multiple delays since the PWD has not identified and shown the village roads crossing the bypass highway. The water bodies and tributaries of the River Sal were not earmarked where we have just started constructing culverts and over bridges,” is what was explained by Manoj Jha, project contractor on site of the work being carried out.
But on the four kms stretch of Navelim to Fradilem wherein the highway works are in progress a meter behind Rosary School Navelim and the off-road stretch of 22 kms comes to a halt with three houses in the way of the project and after a gap of about 200 meters of work stalled. The rest of the work is carried out but delayed due to water bodies.
“Our grandmother’s name figures on the Form 14 as a tenant. Our house falls in the way of the highway but till date there is neither notice of demolition nor rehabilitation served to us. We live under the constant threat of demolition anytime but we have nothing on paper to approach the courts either,” stated a worried Martin Pereira whose entire property is surrounded by debris and mud and a highway being flattened excluding the land on which his house stands.
“We approached Avertano Furtado when he was Navelim MLA and a minister in Manohar Parrikar/ Laxmikant Parsekar government and he turned round and asked us what we were doing so many years when the highway was planned. Avertano even told us that he can’t intervene and realign the new highway avoiding our three homes. Similarly Parrikar and current Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro visited the highway construction site and promised to rebuild our homes elsewhere but nothing is on paper or no move of such kind is underway,” explained Nelson Martins who worries that the contractor will suddenly threaten his wife and family members in his absence for demolition.
While Fradilem resident Nathan Fernandes explains how the western bypass work has piled mud to about 7 metres on either side of the road near their village border which cuts across the highway work and how the mud is piled with no barricades, no retaining wall, no construction of a subway underpass or even temporary lighting near the debris and a lot of accidents take place along that stretch but sadly numerous resolutions in the local gram sabhas are ignored and fail to convey these difficulties to the PWD or the Highway works contractor.
“All issued from land acquisition, shifting of houses, lighting, safety are issues of the PWD and not ours. We have a mandate to build with a clear green signal on land identified for the highway. We have been delayed but we are carrying out our work. The PWD must be questioned on rehabilitation, not us,” explained Kalidheren, the onsite contractor at the Navelim exit of the new Western Bypass.
While Sheela Chari, who works as a domestic help as homes in Navelim and has a few cattle of her own for livelihood, explains how there is no access created along the land filing to get into the fields and water bodies which means one, her cattle thread along the muddy highway but have no way to enter the fields to graze and secondly, the water bodies are blocked and the ponds are dry which makes it difficult for the cattle and as a result, her two cows recently died of stomach ailments.
