Mining corridors planned to ease traffic in Sanguem
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, JAN 13
Constructions of two mining corridors in Sanguem Taluka are likely to ease the traffic congestion created due to ore laden trucks.
Officials stated that mining corridors are bypass roads, which will divert the truck traffic from public roads to these corridors.
Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has almost finished the detailed study for two mining corridors – Ugem to Gudimol and Gudimol to Kapsem. The tenders are already floated by GSIDC.
The mine owners have agreed for the corridors which will work on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
“There is a thinking that the mining companies will pay for using the road on tonnage basis or there could be toll booths installed on the roads,” Glenn Kalavampara, secretary, Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA) told Herald.
In all there are 13,000 mining trucks plying on regular basis across state’s mining belt.
Kalavampara said that the mining companies might demand that no other transport except ore-laden trucks would be allowed to use these corridors. Also there should not be any hindrances like roadside eateries on these corridors.
Chief Minister Digamber Kamat during the monsoon assembly session, last year had said that Goa will build two or three concrete transport corridors exclusively to transport ore using funds from the state’s mining industry.
Replying to a debate on mining during the assembly, Kamat also said that the mining industry have agreed to shell out Rs 500 crore towards a corpus for creation of mining related infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the mining firms also feel that replacing the conventional six-tyre trucks with the 10-wheeler trucks with the more capacity to carry the ore can also solve the vexed issue of mining transport congestion.
“These trucks are of the same size but their capacity to carry ore is more. They can carry almost double the capacity,” he said adding that the phasing out of old trucks and replacing them with the heavy capacity will do away with 40 per cent of the traffic.
“But this needs to be done after consulting the locals who are involved in the business,” he added.
Kalavampara also said that the conveyor belts to carry the ore can also be a solution for the issue.
The association also feels that state government should monitor registration of new mining trucks in the wake of Central government’s moratorium on mining in Goa.
