MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council is facing a daunting challenge as its contractors have shown no interest in taking up the pre-monsoon works, which may lead to flooding in the commercial town during the monsoon. The civic body has delayed opening of the tenders for pre-monsoon works in six wards due to the receipt of only a single tender application during the given time, creating a sense of panic among the councillors. The tender, which was supposed to be opened on April 11, will now be opened on May 9.
Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar had assured that all the pre-monsoon works would be completed by May-end, and work had already commenced in some wards of the Municipality. However, the works in ward numbers XV, XVI, XVII, XII, XXI and XXII are expected to be delayed as only a single contractor has responded to the tender floated by the council.
The pre-monsoon works, which include engaging workers for de-silting and cleaning storm water drains, removing and re-fixing of slabs and drain covers, and supplying an open truck (with fuel and driver) to collect the de-silted mud, had been tendered by the civic body and eligible contractors of the PWD had been invited to submit applications. The estimated cost to put in bids for wards XV, XVI and XVII was around Rs 1.68 lakh and Rs. 1.75 lakh in wards XII, XXI and XXII.
The councillor for ward XV, Mahesh Amonkar, expressed disappointment over the lack of interest from the contractors to take up the works and stated that he would have to answer the people if the pre-monsoon works were not completed on time. He urged the Chairperson and Chief Officer to come up with a solution to ensure his ward does not get flooded due to lack of monsoon preparedness.
