TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: When opposition to the Konkan railway project came to the fore in the early 90s in parts of Salcete and Mormugao talukas, many a Seraulim villager also joined the movement fearing amongst other things the disruption of traffic movement on account of the railway line.
They were wary of the fact that the frequency of trains on the Konkan railway route would only hamper movement at the railway crossing, resulting in traffic snarls.
A decade down the line since the commissioning of the Konkan railway, villagers have realised the bitter truth how the train movement has affected vehicular traffic, with the railway crossing closed for traffic every few minutes. While the Oza Commission that was instituted to go into the objections against the project had recommended a host of measures, including flyovers and subways in populated areas for smooth traffic flow, what Seraulim received from the Konkan railway over the last 10 years was a footbridge ~ meters away from the railway crossing, literally lying in a dilapidated state of affairs for want of maintenance.
When contacted, KRC Sr Public relations manager Baban Ghatge said the KRC has now proposed a flyover at the Seraulim railway crossing to ease the traffic snarls. “The KRC has proposed five flyovers at railway crossings in Salcete stretch of the KR line, one of which is in Seraulim,” Ghatge said. He pointed out that the flyover would become a reality only as and when the state government sanctions funds to execute the project and acquire land for the approach roads.
Incidentally, a row had erupted in the village last year over the alignment of the proposed flyover. After a series of representations made to the various authorities, including the railways, Director of Transport Arun Desai had on July 19 last year wrote to the President, Fabrica da Igreja de Seraulim, stating that the KRC has agreed to change the location of the flyover. He said the new location will be around 300 meters away from the existing level crossing towards Margao end to avoid the ROB in front of the Church.
Former seraulim deputy sarpanch Joaquim Dias, however, has cast doubts whether the new alignment located on the Margao side of the village will serve the desired objective.
When contacted, village sarpanch Leslie Douradao said the Panchayat has already taken a resolution and forwarded the same to the local MLA Caitu Silva and other authorities to build the flyover at the earliest. “There is a dispute over the location of the flyover, but MLA Caitu is following up the matter. A flyover is urgently required since the railway crossing is closed every 20 minutes,” Dourado said.
