MARGAO: Guirdolim residents’ hopes of getting an access across the railway track to help them commute to Chandor is likely to remain a distant dream despite most candidates during their campaign at the recently concluded Assembly elections promised to address the issue.
The residents have been demanding an access across the railway track to help them commute to Chandor where the main market, the church and cemetery are situated.
The situation is such that a lot of time is wasted when each train passes along the track. The locals are irked especially when there is a funeral procession proceeding to the Chandor cemetery for burial and to add to their agony the railway track has been converted from metre gauge to broad gauge.
When the level crossing is closed for a train to proceed, people have to wait. And the wait extends from 10 to 20 minutes depending on the trains be it local or a goods train.
Daily there are six local trains plying from Vasco da Gama to Collem and an Express train. Every week there are eight express trains that ply along the route and daily between 16-20 goods trains ply along the route.
The government has proposed a railway over bridge to connect Curtorim to Guirdolim along the proposed major district road for which the land has already been acquired and the permission from the railway authorities has also been sought.
However, a bridge at this site will increase the distance from the Guirdolim chapel to the Chandor church to around 7 kms, while at present it is only 2 kms.
Significantly, the issue has witnessed heated debates at the gram sabhas of Chandor and Guirdolim where it was resolved that the access should be provided at the existing level crossing and not at the major district road, as the former would be in the interest of the people and the latter would be in commercial interest.
The March 22, 2015, the Chandor-Cavorim gram sabha had urged the authorities to consult locals to prepare a design for the access at the existing level crossing and had pointed out to the ‘S’ shaped bridge constructed by Konkan Railway at Margao.
The issue was brought to the notice of local MLA Subhash alias Rajan Naik by the panchayats. While Chandor-Cavorim panchayat had addressed a letter to him dated June 4, 2015, a reminder was sent on September 26. The Guirdolim panchayat besides issuing a letter dated March 18, 2016 had on July 21, 2011 submitted a memorandum with 188 signatories on the same matter.
Recently, on January 8, 2017 the Guirdolim Panchayat had objected to the double tracking of the railway tracks stating that it would further increase the people’s sufferings and demanded that the same be done only after the access is provided across the railway tracks.
