CANACONA: The residents of Davalkhazan are facing risk from dilapidated BoriePul culvert here which has developed several cracks and could collapse if no immediate attention is given to it. However, the residents feel that the best option is having another similar footbridge in place.
“If this culvert collapses, the residents will be left highly inconvenienced. It was constructed over Agonda rivulet some 40 years ago, however, due to lack of maintenance for a long time it has resulted in becoming weak,” said a resident. He said if no heed is paid to condition of the bridge it could collapse with people losing their lives.
It connects to Khola area and the main road leading towards Margao and Chauri. Speaking to this reporter, sarpanch of Agonda Navnita Naik Gaonkar said that the culvert should be immediately reconstructed so that people who use it do not face any danger to their lives.
She said that the issue has been discussed at length at several gram sabhas over the years, wherein the panchayat, after every meeting, has sent resolutions to the concerned authority for action. She said that immediate assessment of the culvert has to be done and then necessary steps should be taken up.
A woman from Davalkhazan, who wished to remain anonymous, said that “for a few months the locals get into business of running shacks/tents/cottages along the coastal belt, however, if the culvert gives way, the people will face a lot of hardships.”
