As rains near, Ribandar locals worried about dug-up roads.

PANAJI: With the monsoon just days away, Ribandar residents are worried that despite official assurances, the roads will not be restored to their original condition. The digging of roads, to execute the laying of high and low tension cables began on April 10.
Questioning the hurry of the authorities concerned — The Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL), the public works department (PWD) and BSNL — in digging up the roads a little before the start of the rainy season, D’Souza said there was a complete lack of coordination between them. “For days together, people had go without water and phone service as there was a shortage of manpower. This work should have been handled in a better manner to avoid inconvenience to locals,” said a resident, Elvis D’Souza.
Roads in Alto Fondvem, which were the first to be dug up a month ago, were only just being restored on Friday. Instead of tarring the road, loose gravel and little tar has been used, putting the lives of two-wheeler riders at risk, residents say. “In the restoration process, workers have blocked the drains. This will cause problem during the monsoon, when rain water accumulates on the road and gravel comes loose,” D’Souza, said.
The Panaji Smart City mission informed the Goa Human Rights Commission that despite trying to speedily complete work before the monsoon, the delay occurred due to the inadvertent damage caused to PWD pipes and BSNL cables when it tried to lay the underground cables. The Rs 57.6 crore project was undertaken purely in public interest to avoid inconvenience in the form of rain-related power outages as has been the case in the past.
Calling the work shabby, a resident, Saish Mhambre told TOI that the work has been done at a level higher than the current road level. “Also, stones, boulders and pipes are still dumped by the roadside. This is an important road used by locals and tourists proceeding from Panaji to Old Goa, Chorao and Divar,” he said.