MARGAO: The prolonged struggle surrounding the Benaulim-Sinquetim bridge, embroiled in controversy for over a decade and a half due to strong opposition from Benaulim and Navelim residents, is finally nearing completion, with plans to open it for traffic by December-end.
According to PWD officials, the bridge and its approach roads have been finalised in adherence to the original four-lane blueprint. The current focus lies on finalising details like blacktopping and electrification to ensure its readiness for operation.
Initially estimated to cost Rs 8.4 crore during former MLA Churchill Alemao’s tenure as PWD Minister, the bridge’s construction faced setbacks, including a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that escalated to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), hostility leading to project abandonment and subsequent scaling back to accommodate only two-wheelers, due to local opposition. Former Chief Minister (CM) late Manohar Parrikar aimed to complete it as a pedestrian footbridge but faced hurdles due to financial constraints.
In the face of such numerous challenges, PWD managed to resume construction last year and has now successfully joined the spans and constructed approach roads on both sides, albeit incurring an additional cost of Rs 4.5 crore.
Interestingly, two-wheelers and four-wheelers have started using this bridge already even as the finishing touches for the bridge are underway.
They have however raised inquiries regarding the steepness of the approach road towards the Sinquetim-Navelim side of the bridge, which some drivers have found challenging. They speculated that the road’s gradient might have been intentionally adjusted to avoid encroachment on neighbouring properties.
Meanwhile, amidst controversies surrounding the bridge’s history, with strong opposition from Navelim politicians led by former Minister Avertano Furtado against the previous bridge proposal, uncertainty prevails over a formal inauguration by the current BJP government.
Responding to queries about what they will do now given that the bridge is likely to be inaugurated soon, Navelim-based George Barretto said they had placed various conditions before PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral about this issue.
“When we met the PWD Minister, we put forth three conditions. The first was if the bridge is to be inaugurated, a height barrier must be put so that no heavy vehicles are allowed to ply on the bridge. The second was that there should be no road widening allowed. If they don’t agree, we will not let the bridge be opened” said Barretto. He said the third condition was that the former MLA Alemao should not be allowed to be present during the inauguration ceremony or else the locals would protest with black flags at the site.
