Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA – The once unknown but presently well-known Khotigao, a distant hamlet where most indigenous people live, cries for authorities’ immediate attention to repair the Portuguese era built Culvert-bridges now in life-threatening conditions.
“Our Khotigao, which most knows as a primitive area, has altogether eight different sizes Culvert- bridges built during Portuguese period on the main Village road itself. Due to their wear and tear over such long years, these Culverts have now become life-threatening as most of these are in immediate need of attention to either repair or reconstruct with new Culverts’, informed panch and ex-Sarpanch Manohar Velip.
‘From Mone to Panchayat Ghar, there are 3 Culvert bridges, then Noura, Zamutka, Edda, and two more bridges in Kuskem have become a concern for everyone, said a resident Brijesh Desai.
“We feel for all these years, the government has neglected us, and particularly the structural existences in the village. Some of the Portuguese-era Culverts have begun to fall apart, protection walls have given away, iron rods are protruding out, and some have been completely washed out during the monsoons but the government, particularly the PWD authorities, have remained an elusive silent spectator”, adds Desai.
He says whenever locals ask, they only get responses that your works are done, tender, and everything completed and will start the results immediately. But in reality, never in the past, works on these Culvert-bridges ever took place.’ informed another concerned resident.
A local Ramdas Gaonkar said, ‘It’s been two years that the Culvert of many decades on Mone to Khotigao panchayat road has been broken down. It has no pipes but is built with slabs and stone bricks while both sides of the road have started to give away. When people made noise, authorities dumped two tipper loads of mud at the site, and after people made more noise to seek government action, authorities made arrangements for some iron rods to make a temporary fence on one side of the road. But, if we look at the reality, authorities concerned can use only two pipes with an expenditure of around 50k-60k, and this Culvert and the road can become a safe passage. The present condition is such that a bus, or truck or for that matter any vehicle passing on this Culvert can fall’, Gaonkar.
‘We feel the government is waiting for a major calamity to befall the people here, and only then authorities will wake up from its deep slumber to attend to this Culvert’, Manohar Velip.
Besides, several residents complained that almost all the eight bridges constructed during Portuguese time on the village road have deteriorated and need some or the other attention to repair or re-construct the same.
Ex-sarpanch and panch Manohar Velip,
“Every culvert has turned into a death trap to the people using this road or coming to the village. Does our government looks for and wait for a major tragedy to happen? We feel that if this Culvert at Mone is not repaired before monsoon, monsoon rains will choke it, and the area will be flooded, and the road will be washed away. Forget about MLA or ZP or Sarpanch, but why PWD as an authority can’t see the threat when visible to everyone?”Gaonkar.
Yet another villager feels that one of the main Village bridges which is literarily giving away, cries for immediate attention and considering its poor condition no patchworks will help save it. Still, only it’s reconstruction will address the same”