Team Herald
CANACONA: A construction site at Government Higher Secondary School at Mastimoll, Canacona looks like a big mess with construction rules laid down by the GSIDC itself flouted left, right and centre.
On close inspection, it was seen that the construction site with pits dug for the foundation pillars are not barricaded making it dangerous for the life of animals, domestic as well as wild that might stray around as the site is open on two sides and one side is touching the forest.
Some workers were seen working without crash helmets; a board displaying the contractor’s name and licence details was missing from the site; MS rods and channels found scattered all around the site making the area dangerous as it is very close to the existing premises of the higher secondary building.
One toilet block with two toilets built for labourers is also found incomplete; bathing arrangements are also not proper.
Sandeep Chodankar, an official responsible for site, said that the anomalies would be corrected shortly.
When questioned about these anomalies, a site engineer literally stopped short of saying that he would complain against this scribe for trespassing into his site.
Elvis Fernandes, a close associate of MLA Isidore Fernandes and block president of Canacona Congress block, said, “it looks like it’s free for all in Canacona and since the department officials are looking the other way at these serious lapses I am flooded with calls from concerned citizens to take preventive actions against the builder to avoid a major tragedy at these construction site.”
Anil Bhagat, a senior citizen and a social activist, wondered how this could happen and who would be responsible if any accident or tragedy occurred. He even questioned as to how the school principal could allow this to happen, when hundreds of students face health risk due to unhygienic conditions at the site.
Yogesh Prabhugaonkar, a leading architect from Canacona, said “Overall scenario and working style is very bad. Till today approximately 60-70% projects don’t have either an architect or an engineer; not a single contractor has either registration or required qualification.”
