Times of India | 8 months ago | 27-09-2022 | 04:35 am
Panaji: Within a span of five months there have been two accident-related deaths at the Chimbel junction. In the first case, pedestrian and senior citizen Venkatesh Karapurkar was mowed down by a truck in May and now a cyclist Devu Mardolkar, 56, died after being hit by a bus.Following fresh protests by locals, PWD minister Nilesh Cabral on Monday said that a work order has been issued to construct the pending flyover at Chimbel. “As per the work order, work has to be completed in 365 days. But I have told the contractor that it should be done before a year. Like the other new bridges, the structure will be made of precast slabs and so it can be completed faster,” he said. He said that rumblers and other precautionary measures were put in place, in the meantime, at the junction.On Saturday night, locals had held a candlelight protest at Chimbel to highlight government apathy.The work on the flyover was delayed by many years after a local went to court over land issue. “There is a chapel there and the minute you touch the chapel or a temple, people gather to oppose. We will also require land to set up the RCC plant. I have already discussed this with local MLA Rodolfo Fernandes,” Cabral said.The Chimbel junction turned dangerous following the construction of the bypass road passing through the Kadamba Plateau, starting from Chimbel. The Old Goa bypass was constructed in 2004 and its expansion took place in 2014.The Old Goa bypass provided commuters a wider and better alternative route to the 400-year-old Ribandar causeway. However, construction of the overbridge at the Chimbel junction has been pending as land acquisition for the project was challenged in the HC. The project was to be originally completed by 2016.Now, the lack of the overbridge slows down traffic near the Chimbel junction despite the four-laning, as vehicles meet at this crossroads. This also has made the junction dangerous for commuters due to the ensuing chaos.
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