There is a storm brewing in Margao-Fatorda and that is over the construction of the proposed ODP road from Toleaband Fatorda near Ravindra Bhavan to Bolshe Circle, Gogol.
However the debate on this road has not just started but has been in discussion for the last 20 years and so on Tuesday, fearing that the road will get stuck in politics, a group of Borda and Margao residents got together at the proposed site to explain why they wanted this road to be built
Among the residents present at the site where the landfilling has begun, were Abhay Khavate, Kiran Naik, Deep Karapurkar, Pascoal Barbosa Noronha, Jose Maria Miranda and Margao Municipal Councillors of the area and chairperson Babita Angle.
Khavate and Naik are members of a group called Sobit Madgao Manch that had petitioned the chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar to take up the road following which a meeting was called with the Fatorda MLA as the representative of the area where it was decided to go ahead with the road.
Seeking to delink the road project from the politics, residents questioned why should the people suffer in view of the politics and reiterated that it was they who had taken up the matter in the interest of infrastructure development for Margao
Activist Jose Maria Miranda said that this has been the demand of the citizens of Borda who had simultaneously opposed the expansion of the existing Borda road. He said that the residents had in the past objected to the to the Borda roads to be widened to 20 meters and demanded that it be reduced to 12 meters. In addition they supported the demand for the bypass road with a width of 30 meters
Engineer Pascoal Noronha recalled how Borda residents had blatantly opposed the proposed widening of the existing St Joaquim road to 20 meters as it would lead to the demolition of compound walls of houses, chapels and religious places. Noronha, who had all the file notings with him, added that due to the heavy congestion of the St Joaquim chapel road, the proposed parallel road was endorsed by the locals and the MLA.
He then pointed that a notification issued to expand the St Joaquim chapel road to 20 meters was opposed and that activists like Jose Maria Miranda had petitioned the then governor S C Jamir who then sent it to then Chief Minister Pratap Singh Ran. Mr Rane then reduced the land acquisition to 12 meters from 20 meters.
He questioned the opposition from the Congress now when the Congress in the past supported their petition and pointed out that traffic from Curtorim, Sanguem that comes through Borda can take the bypass road thus reducing the burden on the exiting road and added that their demands were logical.
While Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai referred to a meeting recently held with the Chief Minister Parsekar where the state government has decided to sanction the construction of the road that will be constructed by the GSIDC.
Meanwhile, Mr Deep Karapurkar also explained that there was no issue with regard to the ongoing land-filling that is being objected to and said that the reason he had come forward was that finally some work on this road was being initiated and he could say that on behalf of the residents no one wanted any more delays. MMC chairperson Babita Angle explained that the mud was being taken from landfill site at the Sonsoddo dump and was being used for the proposed road to reduce costs of the road.
This agitation is interesting because it bucks the trend of locals opposing projects. Here civic society is clearly in favour of the new bypass road to solve the growing problems of acute congestion at Borda
