The delay in completion of sewerage work and laying of the water pipeline by the Public Works Department (PWD) has consequently caused a delay in the completion of work on the Miramar-Dona Paula stretch. The 1.1km road from Caranzalem to Dona Paula jetty is pending for construction for more than 6 months now as the PWD is yet to fix the pipelines before concretization of
the road.
“We cannot undertake the completion of the road work till the sewerage and pipeline work has been completed since the pipelines are right in the centre of the road,” said Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) contractor, Prasad Rao.
Officials of the GSIDC have said that the road from Miramar circle to Caranzalem fish market will be completed and opened by the end of May. Rao has also confirmed that the work on the remaining stretch of road at Caranzalem is on in full swing and will be completed before the monsoons.
Rao also went on to say that the 1.1km stretch will require two months’ time once the PWD hands over the road after completion of the sewerage and water pipeline. Principal Chief Engineer of the PWD, D J S Borkar said that a work order has been issued already to carry out sewerage and water pipeline work.
“It was pending due to some crucial issues as there would have been a problem with traffic movement. Once the rest of the road is opened, then it will be better to carry out that work,” Borkar said.
He went on to add that work to lay sewerage and water pipelines will commence soon. GSIDC officials have informed that traffic has now been diverted through the internal roads as both sides of the main road have construction work on in full swing to meet the May end deadline.
GSIDC, a state run corporation has engaged the services of private contractor M V Rao for the construction of the 4.5 km stretch estimated at Rs 73 crore. This project has already had more than half a dozen deadlines but work is yet to be completed.
The construction of the controversial stretch began almost 26 months ago in February 2014, but the GSIDC is still struggling to complete the project within deadlines. The project was also halted for some time after a High Court order following the Public Interest Litigation claiming it would be wasteful expenditure.
The delay in completion of this work has not only caused inconvenience to locals and residents but also to the thousands of tourists who have been visiting the Dona Paula jetty, a major tourist attraction in the last two years.
The said stretch of road also conjured some controversy when it developed cracks before traffic could even be allowed on it. Herald in the past has reported about these cracks which developed at exactly 15 places. A gap measuring more than an inch was noticed during an inspection.
