Team Goemkarponn
PORVORIM: A slab span of the under-construction New Porvorim bridge collapsed during the fixing process on Saturday, raising serious concerns about the quality of construction and the accountability of government agencies involved. The incident occurred on one of Goa’s busiest traffic corridors, used daily by thousands of commuters, and has led to widespread outrage among opposition leaders and the public.
Reacting sharply to the incident, Amarnath Panjikar, Media Chairman of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), called it a glaring example of “rotten governance and criminal negligence.” He blamed the contractor, the Public Works Department (PWD), and the supervising engineers for their failure to ensure structural safety during such a critical phase of the project. According to Panjikar, the collapse is not an isolated mistake but a sign of deeper systemic issues in the construction and oversight processes.
“This is not a minor mishap — it’s a serious threat to public safety,” Panjikar stated. “If a slab fails during the fixing process, what confidence can citizens have in the finished bridge?” He questioned the absence of strict quality control, third-party inspections, and structural audits, and demanded that the state’s BJP-led government provide clear answers and take responsibility for the failure.
Panjikar raised several pointed questions, including whether any safety audits were conducted following the collapse, if the bridge would be safe for public use after completion, and whether anyone would be held accountable. He further warned that if decisive action is not taken now, lives could be at risk in the future.
The GPCC has demanded immediate punitive measures, including action against the contractor, a high-level independent inquiry with findings made public, criminal proceedings against those responsible for the negligence, and a third-party structural audit before construction is allowed to resume or the bridge is opened to the public. “The people of Goa deserve safe infrastructure — not experiments in incompetence,” said Panjikar. “This is public money being spent, but what we are seeing is public risk.”
As of now, no official statement has been issued by the state government regarding the cause of the collapse. Construction at the site has reportedly been halted pending further assessment.
