Goa: Four years on, Quepem’s handloom training centre stuck in a rut

QUEPEM: A handloom training centre, the first of its kind for Quepem and Sanguem talukas, is yet to see the light of day even after four years as the contractor has abandoned construction claiming bankruptcy.
Citizens say the incomplete structure is fast turning into an eyesore. Social activist Christanand Pednekar said the foundation stone has gone missing and the ground floor has been occupied by stray cattle.
The public works department (buildings), Quepem, has now sent a report to the head office seeking the issuance of a fresh tender to complete construction of the centre at Nirmalanagar, in Xeldem-Quepem.
In September 2016, the PWD had issued a tender of Rs 1.5 crore for construction of the handloom training centre.
“According to the tender, the Ponda-based contractor had been given a year to complete the ground-plus-two building, but he stopped work in April 2018,” Desmond Cardozo, PWD’s assistant engineer, said.
The department then issued a show cause notice to the contractor two times, but when he failed to reply, it terminated his contract in October 2019. The PWD has blacklisted him and his security deposit of nearly Rs 9 lakh has been forfeited. The government had paid the contractor Rs 1.1 crore.
According to a report submitted to the PWD’s head office for technical clearance, the new estimated cost for completing the project is Rs 1.3 crore.