Universal footpath project to be ready in June, will resolve flooding: Panaji mayor

Panaji: Mayor of the city of Panaji, Rohit Monserrate has said that the universal footpath and sewerage projects worth Rs 130 crore, under way in the state capital, will be completed in the next seven months.
“The deadline is June next year. Everything has to be completed by June,” Monserrate told reporters during an inspection of the works in the city.
The two projects are being undertaken under Smart City. Monserrate is a director on the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) board.
TOI had recently reported that the Centre wrote to the state government directing it to complete Smart City projects by 2023 as the smart city mission is being wound up.
The Centre also formally communicated to IPSCDL to ensure efficient utilisation of funds for the approved projects before the mission deadline.
“The universal footpath project and the sewerage project will solve our flooding problem in Panaji. We have these old Portuguese drains, and we want to break open the roads and fix all these old drains so that water flows smoothly. We are breaking open roads and hoping that water stagnation doesn’t occur on 18th June Road,” Monserrate said.
Delays have been caused due to coordination between departments, he said, adding that he will be asking the North Goa collector to call for a joint meeting.
“These works are being carried out on all main roads in Panaji. The residents of Dr Dada Vaidya road have also asked for sewerage works, so we have asked the sewerage department to incorporate this into their work, and they will give us an estimate,” Monserrate said.