Team Herald
PANJIM: The Public Works Department (PWD) on Thursday started the work of repairing the portion of Panjim-Ribandar causeway, which caved in on Wednesday late evening.
According to the contractor’s representative, minimum six days will be required to repair the damaged portion of the causeway and it may have to be closed during repairs.
He said the road had caved in a few days ago and the PWD Division-II had also awarded the tender to them to repair it on a war footing. But the repair work could not be undertaken since the North Goa Collector had to issue the ‘Road Closure’ order.
The contractor was seen using an excavator to remove the mud and the causeway will be repaired and re-strengthened by using concrete.
Meanwhile, the public opined that the causeway called “Ponte De Linhares” has to be saved and protected by removing the mangroves. They feared that the mangroves were destroying the archways of this causeway. the Panjim-Ribandar causeway has 49 archways.
The causeway which was earlier part of the National Highway 4A was first repaired during 1995-1999 period by using boulders to strengthen the foundations. It was again repaired in 2014 when a part of the causeway caved in towards Ribandar end. It was then the State government decided to construct the four-lane Merces-Ribandar-Ponda bypass a few months before the St Francis Xavier Exposition at Old Goa.
