Team Herald
PANJIM: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved Goa government’s plans to import tar from Middle Eastern countries to overcome the shortage that the State is facing at present.
Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Deepak Pawaskar this week had met Gadkari during which the issue of shortage of tar to repair the roads was raised.
Pawaskar said that Goa required 4.5 lakh tonnes of tar annually which are used to repair the roads across the length and breadth of the State.
“We brought it to the notice of Gadkari that there is shortage of tar in the markets of Mumbai and Mangalore from where it was traditionally brought to Goa,” he said.
The minister said that Gadkari was also informed that the quality of tar available in Mumbai and Mangalore was poor.
and so it was advisable to import the material from Middle East.
He said that the many internal roads in the State could not be repaired last year due to scarcity of tar.
Pawaskar said that the work of importing tar would be tendered, while the State government would provide all the facilities to store it near the port.
“The tar would be brought to Mormugao Port Trust, Vasco (in Goa) and then stored at a particular place from where it would be lifted by respective contractors,” he said.
