The Times of India: Panaji: Monday, 23 August 2021.
A group of senior citizens from a colony at Bambolim have written to Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari complaining about irregularities in the ongoing highway expansion work at Bambolim.
The elderly residents of Palmar Colony have alleged that the present work is a deviation from the original highway expansion plan on the stretch. The altered plan is illegal and has been causing severe inconvenience to the colony residents, most of whom are elderly, the senior citizens have told the union minister.
The colony is located near the Goa Medical College Complex, Bambolim.
“In constructing 4-lane highway; EPC contractor and consultant have encroached the existing St Cruz-Bambolim MDR Road reducing the width of this road from 8 to 4.5m. Hence the traffic from St Cruz-Bambolim Goa Medical College, particularly ambulance traffic, is passing through our private residential colony road which creates nuisance and unsafe condition to the residents,” the senior citizens have said in the representation.
The residents said that the ill-planned highway work and changes were made with the ulterior motive to safeguard the interest of one person who owns a structure on this road stretch.
The senior citizens have also submitted documents procured under RTI to prove their claims.
The original approved plan involved providing a vehicular overpass, but was changed to vehicular underpass by the consultant and contractor to safeguard the interest of a private commercial building, which has made this junction a death trap zone, they stated.
The contractor and consultant have gone ahead with the construction of the vehicular underpass by changing the scope of work without approval of the appropriate authority, the residents alleged.
“The contractor and consultant started the work on January 4, 2021, even before the preliminary approval and as per the admission given in writing by the consultant. The final approval with financial implication, if any, is still awaited by PWD, who have not yet submitted the file to the ministry of road transport and highway, and no procedure pertaining to scope of change of work as per the contract agreement is followed (as per information collected under RTI),” they stated.
The contractor has also excavated side of the present highway road to a depth of nearly 12-15m to extract earth to use for filling of the highway road project and has left this excavated stretch in a dangerous condition, locals said.
A group of senior citizens from a colony at Bambolim have written to Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari complaining about irregularities in the ongoing highway expansion work at Bambolim.
The elderly residents of Palmar Colony have alleged that the present work is a deviation from the original highway expansion plan on the stretch. The altered plan is illegal and has been causing severe inconvenience to the colony residents, most of whom are elderly, the senior citizens have told the union minister.
The colony is located near the Goa Medical College Complex, Bambolim.
“In constructing 4-lane highway; EPC contractor and consultant have encroached the existing St Cruz-Bambolim MDR Road reducing the width of this road from 8 to 4.5m. Hence the traffic from St Cruz-Bambolim Goa Medical College, particularly ambulance traffic, is passing through our private residential colony road which creates nuisance and unsafe condition to the residents,” the senior citizens have said in the representation.
The residents said that the ill-planned highway work and changes were made with the ulterior motive to safeguard the interest of one person who owns a structure on this road stretch.
The senior citizens have also submitted documents procured under RTI to prove their claims.
The original approved plan involved providing a vehicular overpass, but was changed to vehicular underpass by the consultant and contractor to safeguard the interest of a private commercial building, which has made this junction a death trap zone, they stated.
The contractor and consultant have gone ahead with the construction of the vehicular underpass by changing the scope of work without approval of the appropriate authority, the residents alleged.
“The contractor and consultant started the work on January 4, 2021, even before the preliminary approval and as per the admission given in writing by the consultant. The final approval with financial implication, if any, is still awaited by PWD, who have not yet submitted the file to the ministry of road transport and highway, and no procedure pertaining to scope of change of work as per the contract agreement is followed (as per information collected under RTI),” they stated.
The contractor has also excavated side of the present highway road to a depth of nearly 12-15m to extract earth to use for filling of the highway road project and has left this excavated stretch in a dangerous condition, locals said.
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