PANJIM: The Goa Civic and Consumer Action Network (GOACAN) has alleged that the faulty ramps installed on 18th June Road in the limits of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) will only facilitate two-wheeler riders to access the pavements.
As has already been seen elsewhere in Panjim how two-wheeler riders have started encroaching on pavements for riding and parking, the installation of these faulty ramps will affect the safety of senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and women and children, who in large numbers use the pavements for their window shopping and actual purchases.
Being a festive time and peak tourism season there will be many young domestic tourists visiting the capital city on rent-a-bike and are likely to misuse these ‘faulty ramps’ and come on to the pavements to ride and park. This is likely to cause conflicts between shop owners, pedestrians and the two-wheeler riders and even result in accidents affecting life and limb, said GOACAN coordinator Roland Martins.
“On the morning of December 26, we were alerted by our volunteers that ‘cement plastering’ has been undertaken on the ‘concrete slabs’ so as to make them serve as ‘ramps’, Martins said.
Martins said that when visited, he noticed work being carried out by the CCP staff at the pavement of Junta House, opposite Hotel Fidalgo, on 18th June Road and noticed that a similar ‘ramp’ was being prepared.
After visiting three similar sites on 18th June road i.e. near Hotel Keni, opposite Cafe Aram and next to Cafe Aram, GOACAN volunteers noticed that in all these cases cement plaster had been used to convert these concrete slabs into ramps.
Subsequently after making inquiries at various offices and also speaking to field staff, it was revealed that this step had been taken by the CCP in response to a letter received from State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, which had requested the Corporation to provide for ramps, which will facilitate the easy and free movement of PwDs using wheelchairs.
“While we from GOACAN appreciate and understand the need for this very important facility, we are also aware that Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) has in its plans the installation of ramps to serve the PwDs by following the required design and by installing the necessary signage,” Martins said.
