TEAM HERALD
CALANGUTE: Calangute, which is touted as the tourism capital of Goa, has its roads in shambles at the height of the tourist holiday season, due to intermittent digging for sewerage works, within the jurisdiction of Calangute Panchayat.
The worst affected areas are the roads leading from Poriat football ground to Calangute/Baga beach, the Holiday Street, Gaura Vaddo road, and the main road from Calangute Village Panchayat office to Candolim.
The Holiday Street road, which was recently given a hot-mix coat has been dug yet again to carry out sewerage work and has been long closed for vehicular traffic and pedestrians as well, at the height of the holiday season.
Though the work on sewerage treatment plant needs to be completed as soon as possible there is however a general fear that there would be grounding of buses and other vehicles due to the work on chambers with rains barely days away.
“The hurried work on the chambers for sewerage treatment plant would be exposed during monsoons. We have experienced too many vehicles getting stuck in the muck during the previous monsoon on the road leading to St Joseph School. This monsoon, it could be the route buses and trucks or even two-wheelers, etc which would suffer the same fate. The work is not being systematically done by the workers” resident Rajesh Naik said.
“The works are being carried out by the labourers in a haphazard manner as there is none to supervise them as to what they are doing. There should have been a precaution especially with rains barely days away to avoid tragedies on Calangute roads” says Selvin D’Souza.
Agreeing to haphazard works by the labourers of sewerage works, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said, “The works on the sewerage treatment plant need to be completed as we are running short of time. The works of laying of chambers would go on till May-end, if there is no rain. The filling of mud after construction of chamber should however have been done systematically to avoid sinking, in the rains. The digging in the middle of the roads will now be stopped and only the work on side chambers would be taken up.”
