TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Sudin Dhavlikar on Saturday said the government is contemplating to empanel agencies to supply heavy machinery to the disaster management authorities in times of disasters as in the case of Canacona building collapse.
During an interaction with the media on the sidelines of the 25th Road Safety Week at Carmel College, Nuvem, Dhavlikar said it is pointless to procure heavy machinery costing crores of rupees and allow it to get rusted for want of use. “Instead, the government has decided to empanel agencies owning heavy machinery so that the machinery can be mobilised within short notice at the disaster site. This system is being followed by the Indian Railway which has entered into an agreement with contractors for supply of bulldozers, cranes, etc, within short notice,” he said.
Replying to a question, the PWD minister said the Canacona incident is the first incident of its kind in Goa where a five storey building has come down like a pack of cards. “Preliminary reports have attributed this collapse to a host of factors, including substandard work, construction work carried out in a reclaimed area, no provision for cross beams and the project initiated without study,” he said.
A thorough investigation into the collapse would provide more insight into the collapse and also ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
Replying to a question on Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar’s flat in Ruby Residency, Dhavlikar said the chief minister has already clarified that Tawadkar had bought the flat from a loan obtained from the Assembly.
“I feel all the agencies, from the TCP to municipal engineer, builder and the contractor should share the blame of the building tragedy,” he added.
Replying to a question of the Lusofonia Games, the PWD minister said all roads will be hot-mix carpeted and completed before January 18, so that they are ready for the games and also to ensure that visitors and fans find travelling easy.
