AERIAL VIEW
On Sunday, six vehicles met with an accident on the “engineering marvel” because of the lethargic attitude of the GSIDC.
The first driver, while negotiating a pothole, climbed on teh divider while others hit back.
Now it has been learnt that L&T has been asked to rectify the potholes.
This is not the first time L&T has been asked to rectify faults in the bridge. In April 2020 and March 2021, the Merces arm was also closed for traffic to repair the faulty approach road. In May 2021, the Atal Setu’s south side approach ramp once again began to sink. GSIDC had to ask L&T to find a permanent solution to this “annual settlement problem”.
The extravagant, cable-stayed bridge, marketed as an “engineering marvel” ironically, has turned into a bridge of shame, showcasing instead shabby, sub-standard and apparently poorly supervised work which seems to have become the hallmark of projects executed by GSIDC.
It is disgraceful that just three years after the bridge was thrown open for vehicular traffic, large potholes developed, necessitating the closure of the Old Goa-Porvorim section for rectification.
On Sunday, six vehicles met with an accident on the “engineering marvel” because of the lethargic attitude of the GSIDC.
The first driver, while negotiating a pothole, climbed on teh divider while others hit back.
Now it has been learnt that L&T has been asked to rectify the potholes.
This is not the first time L&T has been asked to rectify faults in the bridge. In April 2020 and March 2021, the Merces arm was also closed for traffic to repair the faulty approach road. In May 2021, the Atal Setu’s south side approach ramp once again began to sink. GSIDC had to ask L&T to find a permanent solution to this “annual settlement problem”.
This section of the bridge had to be shut for three months. This brings to the forefront the question of why GSIDC, its consultant TPF Engineering Pvt Ltd and contractor L&T chose a marshy site to build the Merces side ramp?.
The sharply escalating maintenance costs that the taxpayers will have to bear in the years to come will result from GSIDC’s irresponsible act of inexplicably building the ramp on marshy land, obviously without following proper engineering procedures. But then, of course, GSIDC is the same organization that had no compunctions about making the High Court project on a high sensitivity landslide-prone zone.
Atal Setu Bridge, which was estimated to cost Rs.385 cr at its inception, has, in reality, drained the public exchequer to the tune of around Rs.581 cr to date, and the work does not seem to be done as yet.
After facing criticism from various quarters, the GSIDC asked the IlT-Madras to identify why the asphalt laid on top of the adhesive bond coat fails to hold the hot mix and if Goa’s rainfall, humidity, salinity and temperature variations could be factors that hamper proper bonding with the bitumen.
Several defects have surfaced on the bridge since its inauguration on January 27, 2019, prompting GSIDC to rope in lIT-Madras to find a solution.
Sources now reveal the adhesion bond between the waterproofing membrane and the slipping and not holding asphalt.
The cause behind this needs to be studied. The adhesion bond is imported, and lIT-Madras needs to look to
see if the chemical may not be suitable for the Goan climate.
Despite the huge scam, the Goa government has not held anyone accountable. Neither the GSIDC nor the L&T officials have been taken to task, which indicates large scale corruption in the corruption in which the top leaders seem to be involved.