Team Herald
PANJIM: It’s the climate. PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral on Wednesday has hit bull’s eye in identifying the reason behind the potholes on Atal Setu.
The minister has opined that the potholes on Atal Setu, the signature bridge over the Mandovi River, may be due to climatic conditions for which the contractor will evolve solutions.
Cabral claimed that technology is driven by innovation and the contractor had put a masking layer for the bridge, due to which the tar is not holding.
“So whether it is because of our climatic conditions, since all these types of things, (since it has succeeded in other places) or not, they will find a solution and it will not happen,” Cabral said.
Asked about a permanent solution for potholes which occur every year with the rains, he said concretization of roads was the permanent solution, for which we (govt) don’t have the money. For one to three years there is a defect liability period. During that time, potholes should not occur but after that potholes will occur due to wear and tear.
The defect liability period for the bridge is 4 years.
“Where potholes occurred within two years, I got the road re-done within the defect liability period from a particular contractor. In some places such as Panjim, I’m not satisfied. I will get it re-done after the rains from the contractor,” Cabral asserted. “I will blacklist him for the next three years. No one should teach me how to run the PWD. I know to do my work, only it takes time,” he reiterated.
He further informed that the last leg of the new Zuari Bridge was to be completed by August 15, but there were some delays and now the last leg will be completed by August 30.
“The (Chinese) consultant was delayed in coming. The technical things had to be completed such as tightening, stress levels, and deck levels had to be checked. The last leg will be put in place by August 30. Even after putting in place the last part, technical things will have to be checked,” Cabral added.
