Then how do people get onto it? By climbing steps on either side of the bridge
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Just imagine a situation where in a full-fledged six-meter wide motorable bridge over a river has no approach roads, but only footsteps for pedestrians.
This isn’t any engineering feat, but plain politics as former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao’s controversial Benaulim-Navelim bridge over River Sal at Sinquetim is heading towards a similar fate. The controversial bridge may as well turn out to be a bridge with only steps on either side with no approach roads. The government has not only shelved the plan for a six-meter wide bridge with six-meter wide approach roads, but has dumped a compromise formula to go in for a bridge only for two-wheelers.
Throwing light on the emerging development, PWD Chief Engineer J S Rego said the PWD has not changed the original bridge specifications, but only the approach road plan has undergone a change. “We have not redesigned the bridge. The concrete slab which will be laid soon by the contractor will be capable of bearing the load of heavy vehicles and not just of pedestrians”, Rego added. “The PWD has finally settled for a solution wherein the bridge will now be used only for pedestrians as per government’s request”,
he said.
Commenting on the development, Fisheries Minister and Navelim MLA Avertano Furtado – who was in the forefront at the agitation against the controversial bridge when Navelim was ruled by his bête noire, Churchill Alemao – said the people of Benaulim were opposed to a bridge even for two-wheelers fearing destruction of houses.
“We had no option than to settle for a footbridge”, he added.
Interestingly, Avertano had okayed the resumption of work for the bridge for two-wheelers only around August last. The proposal, however, came in for stiff objection from Benaulim MLA Caitu Silva and Navelim villager George Barretto, prompting the Fisheries Minister to toe the line of his opponents.
Says Caitu Silva: “The Sinquetim-Benaulim bridge was not at all required in the first place. People on both sides have been opposing the bridge from day one, but the previous government bulldozed its way with the proposal”.
The Navelim-Benaulim bridge is one of the three dream bridges proposed by the former PWD Minister over River Sal during his tenure. While the Varca-Telaulim bridge has already been thrown open to traffic, the Assolna-Cavelossim bridge is awaiting commissioning.
PWD Chief Engineer Rego said the PWD will write to the contractor either on Friday or Monday to resume work on the bridge – which was suspended since the day Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar along with MLAs Avertano and Caitu inspected the bridge soon after assuming power in 2012.
