CANACONA: The Dedke Tar Bailey footbridge at Sadolxem is in pathetic state with corrosion spreading on many parts of the span. According to residents, the footbridge may give way any time just as the incident happened in Sanvordem and, hence, the authorities should repair the footbridge at the earliest.
The footbridge was installed in 2001 along the Talpona river at Sadolxem in Canacona.
A retired headmaster and a senior citizen Ulhas Pai Bhatikar said that after a lot of efforts from the residents and the then parish priest of Sadolxem Fr Neville Monteiro, the footbridge was installed during the tenure of the late Dr Wilfred D’Souza.
After seeing the hardships faced by the residents, Dr D’Souza gave his nod to install the footbridge for the benefit of the residents of Sadolxem and surrounding areas such as Talpona, Galgibaga, Catebaga and Magdal.
Junior engineer Umesh Naik said that the PWD wants to give a new coating to the iron structure and carry out repairs to the footbridge. He said that the work was tendered thrice but since there were no takers, the maintenance of the footbridge has remained pending.
The footbridge is a boon not only to residents at Sadolxem but to people of far off places, besides fisherwomen who travel to Chauri and many foreign tourists who prefer this route as it cuts the distance short by at least 8-10 kilometres.
The residents said that this route is also used by children to go to schools located at Chauri, Pansulem and for children from Pansulem and Mangan to come to their respective schools located at Sadolxem.