PANJIM: Gram sabha members of Navelim Village Panchayat on Sunday demanded an overhead bridge be constructed at the National Highway 66 western bypass junction as there have been many deaths taken place there.
While the locals lamented that nothing has been done to stop the frequency of accidents that take place, they blamed the poor design and bad planning of the highway construction.
Bento Silva said, “They had already written to various authorities besides the panchayat namely the Traffic Department, PWD etc and that they will be writing to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) too.
Navelim Sarpanch Bebinda Gonsalves pointed out that they still have not come to a conclusion over where this bridge could be built and its path etc and for that another special meeting will be held on the topic with the villagers and local authorities.
Like the neighbouring Telaulim Gram sabha, here too in Navelim, locals called for a site inspection of the western bypass junction to be conducted jointly by the panchayat, PWD, local MLA and PWD Minister. Telaulim gram sabha had also passed a resolution calling for a flyover.
The Navelim Sarpanch added that the panchayat have decided to write to the NHAI directly as it was pointed out during the meeting that the State government had said it was powerless when it comes to matters dealing with the western bypass.
The Navelim gram sabha also saw a discussion about alleged illegal constructions and the panchayat body was asked to send a notice to such constructions to verify these allegations and take action accordingly.
One gram sabha member also said that the Town and Country Planning Department has to be informed by the panchayat that some constructions that have come up in Navelim have stated that its near a nullah but she pointed out that there no nullahs in Navelim and only River Sal tributaries or the River Sal itself.
The gram sabha member, who is part of the village biodiversity management committee, added that such constructions have to leave setbacks in order to protect the river, which is getting damaged and has also become a garbage dumping site. The Sarpanch however stated that the panchayat has been following due process when it comes to giving permission for constructions.
