In Goa, as city gears up for G20, some internal roads suffer

Even as refurbishment and facelift work on the main roads near completion, several internal roads in Panjim city remain dug up due to the ongoing smart city mission projects, which have been going on for several months. In February, a stone laden truck had overturned injuring four labourers as a road caved in at the periphery of a dug up zone in St Inez. In another mishap, a tanker got stuck in a pit at Tonca.

Said a shopkeeper in Panjim: “The planning should have been better. Half the city has been dug up for drainage and sewerage works. Instead of this haphazard digging in multiple areas, authorities should have conducted the work zone-wise. The focus of the government is on painting the main roads, while work on internal roads has been ignored.”

Officials executing the smarty city works admitted that the infrastructure work in the internal roads was causing inconvenience to commuters, adding that certain practical difficulties had hindered the works.

Officials executing the smarty city works admitted that the infrastructure work in the internal roads was causing inconvenience to commuters. (Express Photo)

Mamu Hage, North Goa Collector and chief executive officer of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL), said that work is currently going on at two stretches on the internal roads in Panjim.

“One is on a 300 metre stretch on the Menezes Braganza road where restoration and refurbishment work of the old drainage work has been going on. A new drainage network is being laid. At St Inez, we are laying sewer lines where no sewerage lines existed earlier. They will connect the households to an STP. Laying this network of pipelines and manholes requires digging. Another component of the project is a multi-utility corridor which will have utilities on both sides of the carriageway. Due to haphazard laying of pipes in the old plans, we are encountering some practical obstacles. While digging, we often come across certain utilities and then several hours are lost in repair work. From a macro perspective, these civil works can only be carried out between November and April before the onset of monsoons, so there is a time constraint too.” said Hage.

She said that work on these stretches is targeted to be completed within a month. “No new works are being undertaken and the target is to complete these stretches under the Smart City project soon,” added Hage.

Officials confirm that multiple agencies have been directed to complete the works. (Express Photo)

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant held a meeting with several government officials on Tuesday to review preparations for the G20 meetings. The first of the eight scheduled G20 meetings in Goa will be held from April 17.

Officials said that smart city works and works for facelift of roads and stretches in and around Panjim in the lead up to G20 meetings were overlapping and multiple agencies have been directed to complete the works.

Earlier this week, Sanjit Rodrigues, the nodal officer for G-20 meetings in Goa, told reporters that the result of ongoing infrastructure-related works would soon be visible and the works will ultimately benefit the people of the coastal state. “Several roads in Panjim city are being spruced up and getting a facelift. Plantation work along the medians has been carried out and work is on for beautification of traffic circles,” said an official.