Team Herald
PANJIM: The residents of Panjim and the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) councillors are not pleased with the comments and assurances of the PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral where he stated that the work of laying new sewer line at St Inez under the Smart City Mission will be halted, roads will be temporarily repaired and the work will resume only after the monsoon recedes.
After inspecting the ongoing works at St Inez along with CCP Mayor Rohit Monserrate and others on Wednesday, Cabral said the damage caused to old sewer lines connecting houses will be fixed within next eight days and thereafter the road will be taken up for full grouting.
“The work of the new sewer line will not be completed, the line has been laid but the manholes need to be constructed and it is possible only after monsoon. Work will stop, the damages that have led to sewage overflowing will be fixed within next seven to eight days, and thereafter the full grouting of the road will be done,” Cabral said.
Commenting on the spree of heavy vehicles falling victim to the ongoing Smart City works, the PWD Minister said, “Such incidents are bound to happen as for 700 mm pipes, they drilled 900 mm, so how will the 200 mm space be filled? The soil is sandy and already loosened, so with pressure, the road will cave in from the sides of the laid pipes.”
Expressing displeasure over the statement made by PWD Minister, former CCP councilor Menino da Cruz said, “Nilesh Cabral will not be seen during monsoon in Panjim, he is a resident of Curchorem. People of Panjim will face problems. Road caving in and vehicles falling in pits will rise during monsoon. The pre-monsoon showers will expose the shoddy work, and if we see more than two inches of rainfall then we are in deep trouble.”
“Cabral came to inspect the ongoing Smart City works too early. I wish the PWD Minister and the CCP Mayor all the very best for the monsoon. Let us hope no damage is done to the city and its residents,” said former Mayor and senior-most councillor Surendra Furtado.
He questioned why the authorities failed to inform and invite local councillors for the inspection of Smart City works.
“Nilesh Cabral is definitely a capable minister, so, we will have to hope that his word is good, though, this might be difficult for us as citizens, because we have been let down so many times by this rudderless and spineless government,” a resident of Campal-Panjim Armando Gonsalves said.
A former PWD engineer said that heavy damage has been caused to the sewer lines which were laid in 1972 by the GSUDA appointed contractor due to lack of planning and scheduling of works and also due to lack of supervision by the PWD and other authorities concerned.
