Team Herald
PANJIM: Residents of Ribandar are irked over the resumption of road digging under the Smart City project for laying underground power cables, as road leading to their residences have been blocked.
Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) has resumed the underground cabling works in the capital city and currently work is in progress in Ribandar for the last more than a week.
Locals are irked as the roads leading to their residences have been dug up completely and access on most of the roads barred or has become a bumpy drive and ride.
A local resident living near Ribandar crematorium located up on the plateau said that during the holy weekend of Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday a group of labourers began digging the road and by evening the whole stretch of road had been dug up.
“We confronted the site supervisor and also had to seek police intervention. The site supervisor assured us that the restoration work would be done soon. However, we have noticed that instead of clearing every road and restoring the roads, the agency working on the project has dug the whole plateau and beyond. Our access roads have been dug up creating a lot of trouble”, he claimed.
Another local living on the plateau and running a school bus service complained that in absence of access roads locals are facing difficulties to drive their vehicles or even ride bikes up the plateau. “All the sides have been dug up and it is difficult to even ride a bike, how do we drive the cars. During the night the situation is worst as one could land in a big trouble”, he added.
Shalaka Infra-tech (India) Private Limited is carrying out the smart conversion of overhead to underground electrical network in Panjim and Ribandar with a completion deadline of January 9, 2020.
The site supervisor of Shalaka informed that the North Goa Collector has granted the IPSCDL temporary permission to carryout the digging work. “The restoration work of the road will be completed before the monsoon in Ribandar. We will continue the work until permitted and we will wind up work as and when directed by the office”, he added.
Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Mayor Uday Madkaikar questioned the extended date being granted for road digging o the project when all the works have been ordered to be completed by the end of April.
“The Collector ahs granted permission but with hardly any time remaining for the onset of pre-monsoon showers, when will the restoration work be completed. In case early pre-monsoon showers public at large will have to suffer as the slopes will become slippery due to the washing off the mud. Even now the locals facing difficulties as almost all lanes have been blocked due to the digging work”, he added.
IPSCDL officials were unavailable for comments despite repeated calls.
