PANJIM/PONDA: Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has taken a suo motu cognizance of the concerns raised about the deteriorating conditions of the Borim Bridge and has directed the PWD and the Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report about the condition of the bridge in a month’s time.
On Tuesday, under the heading, “Repair Borim Bridge in 8 days or face stir, warn Borim panchayat members,” Herald had reported that the Borim panchayat members led by Sarpanch Bhavna Naik on Monday threatened to stage a rasta roko if the authorities concerned fail to repair the dilapidated Borim bridge within eight days.
GHRC President AD Salkar observed, “The media reports implicitly indicate that the Borim Bridge is in imminent danger of collapsing, thereby endangering the lives of innocent people who are commuting on the said bridge.”
Stating that the matter must be viewed with all seriousness, Salkar stated, “The concerned authorities also should not overlook the imminent danger that the bridge may collapse at any point of time, unless immediate precautions are taken to prevent the apprehended calamity.”
The GHRC has directed the PWD Principal Chief Engineer and Goa Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report on or before August 19, 2019. The Commission also directed the PWD Chief Engineer to carry out an inspection of the bridge within four days, “to ascertain the strength of the bridge to withstand heavy vehicular traffic.”
Borim Sarpanch Bhavna Naik along with the panchas had inspected the bridge and found it to be vibrating and shaking on account of the movement of heavy vehicles. The panchayat members expressed fears that the dilapidated bridge would collapse any moment and that the current condition of the bridge has created panic among commuters. The inspection was carried out after a video highlighting the bridge’s dilapidated condition went viral on social media.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the video on social media, PWD engineers inspected the bridge, on Thursday. The engineers clarified that “the bridge is safe for commuting and there was nothing to worry”.
The PWD minister also informed that engineers found that the welding of an expansion joint plate is damaged at two points and due to which has dipped and the PWD would take up repairs of the bridge.
Borim Panch Sunil Sawkar, who was present at the bridge during the inspection, thanked the media, especially Herald, for highlighting condition of the bridge. “After closure of Zuvari Bridge, this is the only bridge serving as a major link between North and South Goa,” he said.
