JULIO D’SILVA
Will the short stretch of road from the Power House junction to Davorlim junction and up to the Rawanfond circle get a fresh layer of hot mix this year prior to the onset of monsoons, is the question uppermost on people’s mind given the fact that this stretch of road has been literally abandoned by the authorities for years now.
Every monsoon the road is totally washed out and nobody seems to be bothered even though it is used by thousands of vehicles every day as it is the road leading from Margao to Quepem. It is also one of the busiest exits from the town of Margao.
Earlier the road was abandoned as the traffic island needed to be finalised. However, it is two years now since the traffic island is finalised but is not yet constructed for reasons best known to the authorities.
It is learnt that hot-mixing of the road was to be done in the month of November 2016, but got held up due to the election process and nobody knows exactly when the road will be taken up now for repairs.
Apparently the Public Works Department has prepared all the ground work and the plans were ready two years ago awaiting government approval. The government approval probably did not come because of the cash crunch the previous government was going through.
Sources say the work has to be completed before the onset of monsoons and the government will have to give the approval as early as possible since the formalities of inviting the tenders and finalising them will itself take about a month.
Many accidents have taken place on this stretch of road. Some time earlier those residing around this road had demanded that speed breakers or rumbler strips be installed which would force motorists to slow down at this busy road.
There was a time that the District Collector had prohibited parking of vehicles, specially trucks with containers, near this junction.
Given the fact that this work was not done when South Goa and Salcete had its own share of minister, whether it will be done now when South Goa has only one minister, is a moot question, specially as the BJP has been routed in Salcete and the present PWD minister is the same who earlier too held that portfolio.
