TEAM HERALD
Will PWD Minister, Sudin Dhavalikar’s officials ensure the upkeep and maintenance of this two-wheeler-cum-foot bridge – linking Margao to its outskirts at Calconda and Navelim?
One of the three bridges built over the railway line during the previous Congress regime, the station road-Calconda footbridge – which had earned notoriety for the spate of robberies and a case of sodomy – is craving for urgent attention.
Craters have surfaced all along the bridge, inconveniencing both two-wheeler riders and pedestrians alike, but PWD officials are yet to make their presence felt and undertake repairs. Though PWD officials in the know say the bridge had undergone minor repairs, the ground reality looks otherwise.
There have been complaints galore that the road surface is uneven at the entrance to the bridge, but the situation has not changed for the better till date.
That’s not all. The entire stretch of the bridge has only two sodium lamps at either ends, installed after the spate of robberies. But, there’s no dearth of complaints of poor illumination on the bridge with one of the lamps damaged and in broken condition.
District Magistrate’s order to illuminate the bridge in the wake of the sexual assault on a minor boy on the bridge has fallen on deaf ears. Pedestrians, including women avoid the bridge late evenings for want of security and proper illumination.
Konkan Railway officials say the issue of the bridge maintenance rests with the local government. “The KRC had only built the bridge upon requisition by the local government. The bridge was handed over to the local government long ago”, remarked a KRC official.
