Negative forces thwarting devpt in Curchorem: Cabral

Margao: PWD minister Nilesh Cabral on Monday accused “negative forces” of putting spokes in his development plans for his Curchorem constituency. While he stopped short of naming anyone, it was clear he was smarting under criticism from various quarters over the abrupt temporary closure of the Hodar-Curchorem road for bridge construction work right when the Class X board exams were under way.
“We know people are inconvenienced by the closure of the road, but ultimately this bridge is for people only,” said Cabral, during his site inspection of the work. “Once the bridge is complete, there will no longer be any traffic bottlenecks. Some people are needlessly critical and that creates problems. I hope and pray that these negative forces turn positive. Curchorem needs positive energy so that everybody comes together for development.”
The sudden closure of the Hodar-Curchorem stretch of the Margao-Chandor-Curchorem road has subjected locals to severe hardships. With no prior intimation, save for a small advertisement in a daily on Thursday, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) closed the stretch from the St Sebastian Church, Hodar, up to the Curchorem fire station for seven days — from March 31 to April 6 — to facilitate bridge expansion work.
Cabral said that the road will be reopened for traffic before April 6. The new bridge, along with the approach roads, will be opened by May, following which the existing one will be demolished, he said.
The four-lane tub-girder composite steel and concrete bridge is estimated to cost Rs 20 crore.
The Curchorem MLA assured that the dug-up roads of his constituency will be restored before the monsoon. “Works on the sewerage network and underground cabling are going on simultaneously. I know people are inconvenienced, but as I am monitoring the work, and will ensure that the roads are restored by grouting (laying cement mortar) before monsoon, and will be hotmixed only later. People should bear with the trouble for some time,” said Cabral.