PANJIM: Locals of Ribandar on Thursday met Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) officials at the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) office and told them that they will not allow the Smart City work if it is not done in phases and within the stipulated time-frame.
“If the work under Smart City project is not done phase wise, we will not allow it to proceed further. We would not allow it to be done rampantly. If phase I is not done properly, then how can we allow it to start phase II. We are ready to give even 40 days but the work should be complete. What happened in Panjim should not happen in Ribandar,” a Ribandar resident said.
During the meeting, the residents stressed that while taking up the work, the Smart City project officials should ensure that there will bemotorable roads, devoid of dust.
“It should not be like the roads of Panaji city,” another citizen quipped.
“You may do 10 things on a road, we are not concerned about that but make sure that the alternative road is motorable. When work on Phase II will start, the road completed under Phase I should be motorable,” he said.
However, IPSCDL Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, said the work will be taken up in phases and completed within a time-frame of 30 days.
“We have done certain phase wise operations. Schedule has been prepared. The entire stretch of five-km has been divided into five phases, right from the Vithal Mandir to Patto and further to Chimbel. Each phase will take one month to complete. There is a certain perception of Smart City work which I will not deny. This is the chance given to us to change the perception and we will change it. Once the stretch is done, I think councillors and residents will be satisfied,” Rodrigues told mediapersons after meeting the Ribandar residents.
On October 8, 2023, the residents of Ribandar had held a meeting and resolved not to allow any further digging of roads by the contractors of the IPSCDL.
Stating that the citizens of Ribandar over the last two years have suffered immensely on account of the haphazard digging of roads, the residents had demanded that the already dug roads be first repaired and restored.
On October 6, 2023, the North Goa Collectorate had granted permission for the work of the stretch of road from Vithal Mandir, Ribandar to office of Crime Branch, Ribandar (Old GMC, Ribandar) to be taken up under Smart City project from October 7 to 30.
The IPSCDL was granted permission for excavation of road for development of smart Ribandar.
