PANJIM: The Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) on Monday showcased the status of current road and manhole construction status and endeavors taken to complete them.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IPSCDL Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, said that as on October 1, 2023, the progress of manhole construction on Central Panaji road was 31 per cent but it increased to 66 per cent by January 18, 2024, and further to 76 per cent by February 19, 2024.
A total of 24 manhole teams are currently deployed to ensure timely completion of the work, he said.
Two manhole teams are assigned to this location for the construction process, whereas work on other manhole along this stretch is suspended for the annual Maruti Zatra, Rodrigues said.
Regarding Mala road, the manhole construction status was 23 per cent on October 1, 2023, but it climbed to 75 per cent by January 18, 2024, and now stands at 88 per cent as of February 19, 2024.
Moreover, on St Inez Road, the road construction progress was at 15 per cent on October 1, 2023, but it increased by 46 per cent by January 18, 2024, and is now at 60 per cent as of February 19, 2024.
Six teams have been deployed to ensure the work is completed on time, he said.
Rodrigues, however, said the encroachments along the road side pavements in Panjim have posed a significant challenge and have adversely affected the pace of the work.
Rodrigues said the work on Miramar stretch will be completed within 90 days as the time given by the Human Rights Commission.
To a question, Rodrigues said, “It is difficult to give entire percentage of work as it is a multi-disciplinary project.”
However, the residents of the capital city said that they are not happy with the work being executed by the IPSCDL.
Architect Neville Monteiro said, “I do not think there is any supervision work for the ongoing Smart City works. We do not know which road is open and which is closed. Signage is very poor. At least some proper signage should be put up to help the people. The poor signage is causing accidents and traffic jams. There have already been two unfortunate accidents as there is no proper barricading. The driver cannot be blamed for that. The problem is with the way the work is being carried out.
Being a technical person, I have observed that there is no supervision. They have put planters along the roads. How do they expect elderly people to cross the road?. It is not friendly and there is no place to walk through. Who is going to maintain the flower beds?. The plants are going to die after some time. Do something which does not require maintenance. Half of the city is dug and we do not know where to go? We hope that we would get some result by May 31, the deadline given by the authority to complete the work.”
Ganesh Mangaonkar said, “There is no proper planning. I am not opposed to the development but it should have been well planned. If a road is dug then another road should be kept open. The situation is such that I have to cross three roads to reach my residence situated along 18th June Road. If you are doing a work, do it one after another and not randomly. It is causing hardship to the people. It is also creating dust pollution.”
Julius Fernandes said, ”The problem is that a road which is open in the morning is closed by the evening. The work is being done in such a way that nobody knows where it is being done and all roads are blocked at the same time which is leading to traffic jams. The dust pollution is more than vehicle pollution. People are not getting clean air to breathe. Those staying in the affected areas are forced to keep their windows shut as they are unable to get pure air. There is a haphazard way of working. Technically there is no planning of what work is to be done. They are hot-mixing a road and digging the same road again. There is no coordination among the departments executing the work.”
A owner of Fantacia restaurant situated at Cunha Riviera Road said, ”They broke open the footpath and it blocked the access to my restaurant. I was forced to close the restaurant on Monday. The work creates lots of dust pollution. The tables on which customers sit are full of dust.”
