Sea Link finds no favour with NHAI
SURAJ NANDREKAR
PANJIM, AUG 31
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat’s dream project, the Vasco-Dona Paula Sea Link, has not found favour with the National Highway’s Authority of India (NHAI).
The project which will connect Dona Paula to Vasco has not found favour as the officers feel that it would be another white elephant, officials told Herald.
The State government has recently appointed German firm Louis Berger as consultants for the proposed sea link, which will conduct feasibility study within 18 months.
The consultant will study the economic, financial, social feasibility of the project and also indicate the type of bridge most suitable at the site.
At a meeting held recently, which was attended by the NHAI chairman Brijeshwar Singh, NHAI general manager, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Chief Secretary Sanjay Srivastava, PWD minister Churchill Alemao, the NHAI pointed out there was not much traffic count for the project.
“The NHAI officials felt that since there was not much traffic available it would not be feasible to invest so much of amount,” sources, speaking on condition of anonymity told Herald.
Instead, sources added, the NHAI officials pointed out that the developed countries like Malaysia, Singapore and others have taken options of starting hop-in, hop out ferries.
“The officials said that these speed boats pick up vehicles and commuters from one end and take them to another end in quick time,” sources said adding “the NHAI was of the opinion that this will be much cheaper and without any environment impact.”
The State has already made a provision of Rs 100 crore in this budget for the consultancy and other related expenditure for the project.
However, the government has come in for severe criticism from Opposition as well as various quarters over the project.
Sources in the government also told Herald that the NHAI officials felt the project would be a wasteful expenditure as the bridge will start somewhere from Siridao, near Bambolim, which is hardly three to four km from the place where the new Zuari bridge is set to come up as part of NH17 widening.
“If the bridge will come so close to the Zuari Bridge, the NHAI has questioned the need of the Sea Link”, sources said.
Further, sources informed that the Sea link will cost the State approximately around Rs 2400 crore.
When this was pointed out to the officials in the PWD, they said that with this amount bridges across entire Goa can be built.
With the State all set to celebrate the golden Jubilee year in 2011, one feels would it not be right for the Digambar Kamat government to try and connect villages like Divar, Chorao and many other places, which have been demanding bridges for decades.
Instead of taking up the sea link, one feels it would be more meaningful of the government taking up such projects which will connect the villages to the towns by road.
When contacted the PWD, none of the officials were ready to comment on the issue.
Principal Chief Engineer (PCE) J J S Rego said that he was not present for the meeting as he was not the PCE then and Chief Engineer J N Chimulkar refused to make a comment on the issue.
