A government that is people centric and public oriented should do everything possible to alleviate any hardship faced by its citizens. Currently it is a nightmare for people traveling between North and South Goa due to the serpentine queues of vehicles around Cortalim and Agaçaim.

 

Ironically the first phase of the new Zuari Bridge despite being ready has not been thrown open for commuters as Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari can come down only on 29th December to inaugurate it. Instead of forthwith alleviating the plight of the commuters the government has chosen to wait for the Chief Guest to arrive. An insane decision defying all logic. If for whatever reasons the government wants it inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari, with modern technology at hand couldn’t that ritual have been done by virtual mode?

 

The Atal Setu across the River Mandovi was hurriedly inaugurated on 27th January 2019 and we were promised it would be a wonder that would last over a century. But within a year the defects in that bridge started showing up and the potholes are now galore. In any other country the contractor, engineers and government officials responsible for such a failed project would have by now been cooling their heels in jail.

 

After the inaugural of Atal Setu, it was thrown open for the public only on 5th February. The intervening week was to enable the BJP’s Karyakartas to rejoice the evenings on the bridge and beer cans were floating all over. Hope that is not allowed on the Zuari Bridge. Nitin Gadkari had inaugurated Atal Setu and we can now only pray that history does not repeat with those structural defects at this Zuari Bridge which has cost the taxpayer a whopping over 2530 crores.