Ongoing pipeline work makes road bumpy, hinders traffic in Siolim

Saligao: The busy Marna stretch of the Siolim-Mapusa road has become a nightmare for both commuters and locals residing there. Work of laying of a second pipeline along this busy stretch has been going on since the past six months affecting the smooth flow of traffic and causing severe dust pollution .

Work, which came to a halt temporarily after the Covid-19 lockdown was declared, has regained momentum.

The new worry now is that it will not be completed before the onset of the monsoon, which could lead to further hardships.

William Fernandes, the pancha who represents the six affected wards - Igrez vaddo, Cruz vado, Noronha vado, Valadares vado, Modlo vado, Chaudi, Soares vado and Voilo vado - said that the free flow of traffic is being affected due to the presence of heavy machinery on the roads . “People living in these areas, as well as commuters from the coastal belt of Pernem are facing problems. We can only hope that the work is completed by the end of May,” he said.

Goa Forward Party’s Siolim MLA, Vinod Palyenkar, said that he has instructed the water resources department (WRD) and public works department (PWD) to expedite the work. “If it not completed by May-end, people will hold me responsible,” he said.

Meanwhile, stating that work is almost complete, WRD’s executive engineer MK Prasad told TOI, “We are hopeful of finishing the work on the entire stretch by the end of this month.”

PWD’s assistant engineer Pretesh Naik, too, assured that work is being carried out on a war footing and that it would be completed before the rains commence.