VOX POPULI
by
AAM ADMI
Issue No. : N 013
Issue Date: 2 Jan 2023
Contents:
1. A Tale Of 2 Bridges In Goa & How Not To Do Development
2. China Starting Yet Another Circumnavigation Of Covid Around The World
3. BJP Should Stop Slandering Our Past Icons
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YE WHO VISIT MY BLOG. HAVE A GREAT 2023.
SNIPPETS AGAINST NEWS HEADLINES:
A. Headline in The Statesman 1/1/2023: 'BSF orders enquiry after sniffer dog gets pregnant'. This is Modi's India where officials do not know how to handle things and more so the media to interpret what is real news.
B. Amit Shah while speaking at an ITBP function at Bengaluru on 31/12/2022 said that we will not even give an inch of our land to China. The problem in the statement is one of units of measurement, the Chinese have taken kilometers of our land not inches. Amit Shah probably does not know that there are different systems of measurement!
A Tale Of 2 Bridges In Goa & How Not To Do Development: 2 Jan 2023
There are 2 major rivers : the Zuari and the Mandovi in Goa, and there are 3 bridges on them which are crucial for connecting South Goa to North Goa, 1 old and tottering bridge on the Zuari and 2 parallel bridges next to each other, one old and one new, though the latter is also more than 25 years old, on the Mandovi, both close to Panaji. All the bridges are on the National Highway that connects Kanyakumari to Mumbai.
The old Zuari bridge has been having regular problems given its age with periodic load bearing checks, repairs of the deck as also that of the structural members where cracks had emerged. With concerns on its stability a few years ago heavy traffic like trucks and even tourist buses were banned from use of the bridge. This meant that these vehicles would have to travel an additional 15 Km. on the detour between Panaji and Madgaon. The road on the detour was also none too good and there was also yet another bridge, the Borim bridge on the route which had structural issues. Thus traffic would muddle through over the old Zuari bridge with the authorities recognising that a new bridge was absolutely necessary.
As for the 2 parallel bridges over the Mandovi, the old bridge now considered weak was banned for heavy traffic including trucks and buses, even public buses for local commute. Randomly the old bridge would be made one way to ostensibly save it from the load of vehicles which continued to grow apace. Currently this bridge carries both way traffic. The new bridge in contrast would soldier on. Interestingly both bridges had fallen down at the time of construction and were re-built again. In Goa its a tradition that all bridges fall down first and are then re-built!
Thus this brought home the fact that something needs to be done about these bridges over the Zuari and Mandovi rivers. As for giving a priority as to which bridge would have to be built first to replace the ageing bridges, the logical choice should have been the 2nd Zuari bridge since if this bridge were to collapse the traffic on the national highway 17 would be severely disrupted and South and North Goa would be cut off leaving only the tenuous link of the detour via the Borim bridge. It was expected that the 2 bridges over the Mandovi would be able to pull along for the 5-7 years until the new Zuari bridge would be completed. Unfortunately logic had no place in the overcharged political atmosphere prevailing then in Goa.
The late Manohar Parrikar was then the Chief Minister of Goa and the 2014 elections to the Lok Sabha were looming. He got a bee in his bonnet that Panaji, the capital city, needed a showpiece bridge since the existing 2 bridges were crumbling particularly the old bridge which in his understanding was on its last legs. Thus the new 3rd bridge on the Mandovi was cleared with a budgeted expenditure of Rs. 400 crores and the contract placed with Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Mumbai. Operational and environmental concerns were swept aside since Parrikar wanted it at any cost to be inaugurated as the first project by Narendra Modi, the new Prime Minister after the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections. This was done and the construction of the bridge started apace. Many difficulties were faced by the citizens while the bridge was being built since on the road approaching the bridge from the North Goa (Porvorim) side the carriageway was on which the main pillars of the bridge were constructed that would support the road above. After initial troubles maybe because it was L&T being the principal contractor, the difficulties were eased and travel on these stretches became bearable. The bridge was stated complete with marginal delays but the cost had shot up to somewhere in the region of Rs. 600-650 crores.
The completed bridge stands today with no connectivity to Panjim city from the North Goa side which was a major design flaw from inception, there are major potholes on the bridge with big portions of the tarmac coming off which neither L&T or the IIT's are able to figure the reason for, water collects on the bridge on some stretches and during the rainy season from the Merces or South Goa side you cannot climb onto the bridge since that stretch gets waterlogged. Apart from these serious issues which have led to multiple accidents on the bridge, there is hardly any traffic on the bridge since as said earlier the primary school and office traffic from North Goa to the capital city, Panaji in the morning and the reverse in the evening is diverted via the 2 old bridges. Thus the crying need to de-congest traffic in front of the Panaji bus stand is not served by the new Mandovi bridge and it remains as it was chaotic, accident prone and dangerous.
Thus the new Mandovi bridge built at a cost of Rs. 650 crores handles a maximum of 500 vehicles in a day and at different periods is shut down for some sections for some reason or other. Yes, there is a use for the cable stayed bridge which is an imposing structure and that is for tourism promotion. On days like Republic Day, Independence Day or on festival days or on special occasion days the bridge is illuminated in different colours and is truly a beautiful sight. Thus we have an expensive toy to play with right at the entrance of the capital city of Goa, Panaji to exhibit our stupidity which serves no utilitarian purpose and all for the stubbornness of one man who is no more.
Representations were made giving alternate suggestions right up to the next Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar, whose response was that this was decided by Manohar Parrikar and I cannot think of even changing it. A simple flat bridge like those existing and in between them, at the same deck level and with 2 arms connecting on one side the Panaji city and the other towards Merces and further on to South Goa would have been ideal. This would have been more compatible with the environment and merge with the scenario as existing and not look like a monstrosity that the present new 3rd bridge represents. With the limited utility of the new Mandovi bridge there is talk of a need for yet another bridge across the Mandovi in Panaji. There is also a proposal of a rope way across the river connecting Campal to Reis Magos. But all this will be disastrous for the capital city since there are not enough landing points on the Panaji side for these structures without creating major traffic problems.
As for the 2nd Zuari bridge, the contract was placed after some time of the 3rd Mandovi bridge construction commencement on Dilip Buildcon, a Co. not heard of. Not only that the approach roads for the new bridge on both sides of the river was given to the same Co. Thus all eggs were put in the same basket. Considering that the existing Zuari bridge was the only link between South and North Goa, alternatives were talked about at various times. These involved having ferries operating on both sides of the bridge to take off some of the load of traffic on the old bridge. On the Cortalim side a road parallel to the existing one through the fields that would connect to Verna was also mooted that would release the pressure on the existing road. But surprisingly nothing was done and all the talk of alternatives died down leaving the travelling public with just the old Zuari bridge and the mess of construction of the approach roads right from Agacaim to Verna. Its been more than 6 years that the travelling public have been suffering day in and day out with traffic jams at the old Zuari bridge, the dust and pollution while commuting, the uncertainty of reaching their destinations and health hazards. To be fair the Covid pandemic contributed to a hold-up in the construction which was approximately 2 years and at that time traffic was also less and the nuisance to the people consequently tolerable. But when the pandemic eased people started travelling with a vengeance including tourists and the difficulties multiplied compounded by one or other traffic accidents on or near the bridge. These nuisances borne by the people cannot be forgotten easily. Personally the undersigned (author) was stuck in a jam on 26 Nov 2022 travelling from Verna to Agacaim which took us 3 and a half hours. We later understood that there had been 2 accidents on that day on the bridge.
Thus with all the torture faced by the travelling public over the last 6 years between Panaji and Madgaon when the government opened the new Zuari bridge to the public on 28th for people to visit before the formal opening of the bridge on 29th and thereafter for traffic, the people should have boycotted this offer. Black flag demonstrations should have been held on the bridge in sympathy and commiseration of the travelling public's plight over the years. Instead with the lights put up at the bridge we had some band playing music while just below there was a 5 hour traffic jam in operation. This is the contradiction in Goa, call it stupidity or frivolousness but people fail to see the issue at hand in its reality. The message that the government takes out of this is that the people have forgiven them and once the facility is ready will forget the problems and will repeat the same nuisance at another place and at another time in the name of development. Even the timing of the inauguration and the manner of doing it could have been done differently as given in the content below. The Chief Minister during the inauguration said that in the last 60 years Goa has not seen such development. True and neither have the travelling public over the last 6 years between Panaji and Madgaon have seen such misery in the last 60 years!
Concluding, the 3rd Mandovi bridge highlights the waste of public money when other urgent projects of the people are starved for money and resources and the new 2nd Zuari bridge represents the symbol of torture on the people by elected governments with their crass insensitivity and inability to handle large and critical projects. This is no way to handle development and the earlier the government understands it, it is better.
The Mess On The Partial Inauguration Of The New Zuari Bridge
The incompetence and cussedness of our government in Goa is being repeatedly shown in the traffic woes that people have to face while crossing the Zuari bridge over the last few days and particularly since Christmas. The other day newspapers reported a 5 hour traffic jam at the bridge. Recognising the misery heaped on commuters over the last 5 years while the new bridge was being constructed and with plans to open one side of the bridge by end Dec 2022 for traffic, should the government not have examined expediting the opening to around 20th Dec before Christmas when the holiday season traffic increases? It is known that people including tourists arrive over the Christmas - New Year and thus anticipating this would have shown that our government had more sense and conveyed sympathy to the travelling citizens plight. Instead of that they took the approach that the people have suffered for so long and how does another few days matter. One also cannot understand how the date of 29th was chosen for Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate the bridge. Was it because of his tight schedule since he zips around the country with his last known position being somewhere in the Terai region of the Himalayas? If so the Goa government could have taken a decision to start the bridge traffic as soon as the facilities were ready by say around 20th Dec. Then Gadkari could have come at any time later and did a formal inauguration. This method would have shown that our government is responsive to citizen's woes and takes positive action to resolve them. Even now after Gadkari inaugurates the bridge on 29th, the papers say that the bridge will be thrown open to traffic the next day, on 30th. Why add another day? Let Gadkari inaugurate the bridge and let the traffic flow from 29th Dec itself. It is time also that the Goa government show that it has some spine and stands up to the Centre. After all it is for the people of Goa and even the PM the other day said that his is a people or citizen centric government.
China Starting Yet Another Circumnavigation Of Covid Around The World: 30 Dec 2022
With China admitting that there is a Covid surge, we are back at square one. Not only that China has confirmed that it has given up the 'no Covid' policy in the wake of local public protests and has commenced processing passports and visas for its citizenship travel abroad. The Chinese newspapers lately reported that given the restrictions faced by them over the last 3 years and the current relaxations as above their citizens are planning to travel to foreign countries with a vengeance. This would mean that the Covid carried by some of them would spread around the world in another devastating repetition of what happened during the opening days of the pandemic where it all started in China and then circumnavigated the globe carrying in its wake disease, misery and deaths, though the Chinese government officially denies that the virus started in their country. We need to try and put in some strictures on China through the offices of the UN if necessary so that they exercise better and more improved methods to restrict the Covid virus to their own country.
BJP Should Stop Slandering Our Past Icons: 28 Dec 2022
The slandering started by Narendra Modi against the Nehru-Gandhi family is coming back to roost on the BJP icons like Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Recently one of the Congress functionaries spoke ill of Vajpayee which was not desirable. This is like the old Hindi saying that if you throw a stone in muck a little of that is bound to fall back on you. Modi and his compatriots should stop this deliberate habit of insulting their opposite counterparts particularly those who are dead and gone for cheap headlines. Otherwise our youth and children will end up confused not knowing who are our true icons.****************If you have any issues with the contents of this blog, you can respond to:S KamatMob: 0 7218698906Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com
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