Team Herald
MARGAO: A portion of the Northern boundary wall of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda collapsed at around 8 am on Saturday. The wall came crashing down on the bonnet of two cars which were parked in nearby. The authorities arrived more than three and a half hours later to take stock of the situation. The owner of one of the cars, Advocate Chuvo Barboza, said that the local ward councillor Lyndon Pereira was trying to push the blame on him by claiming that the area was a no parking zone. However, there is no “No Parking” signboard installed in the area. “During monsoon season, in spite of Collector’s order not to carry on the work between 15th May to 14th July, the officials were carrying on with work of digging the road.” Herald tried to contact the ward councillor for his response but his phone was switched off.
Barboza claimed that his car has been totally damaged, especially the engine. “It is a total negligence on the part of the authorities. They are claiming it is an act of God. I thank God that there were no people standing in front of the wall during the accident else someone could have been seriously injured or even have died,” he said.
Herald contacted the Deputy Collector in charge of Disaster Management, Roshell Fernandes and asked her if she was monitoring the situation. She said she would find out with the Control Room of the Disaster Management Authority. On being informed that the adjoining portion of the wall could also collapse due to the digging work, she said she would send the PWD to inspect the wall.
