Team Herald
MARGAO: The ongoing works of installing the North-Main sewage pipeline at Margao continues to cause major traffic congestion, besides subjecting commuters to dust pollution, as they wait in the scorching heat, stuck in traffic snarls.
Several road-users have demanded that the authorities take steps to address the dust pollution, which has added more hardships to the commute, on the stretch from the Old market Circle to the South Goa District Hospital.
Even as the works of laying the North-Main pipeline is almost complete, rampant digging near the Circle, coupled with the dry weather, has led to clouds of red dust swirling along the stretch, settling on everything in sight.
Commuters have also complained that the lack of dedicated traffic police deployed on the stretch has aggravated the issue. To make matters worse, city buses make unauthorised stops t Old market, adding to the traffic mess.
Speaking to OHeraldo, Rohan Dessai, a commuter, said that the dust pollution is beyond control and may lead to health issues.
“The concerned contractor should have done water spraying on the road at regular intervals, in order to prevent the dust pollution. This being a major traffic junction, extra care could have avoided the traffic congestion,” said Dessai.
Several shop owners in the vicinity have also
complained that the dust has affected their businesses as well.
“I have a restaurant in a building nearby. This red dust can be witnessed
inside the restaurant,
despite constant cleaning. Customers are avoiding my restaurant due to the
dust pollution,” complained the owner of an eatery in the area.
It is pertinent to note that the sewerage work here was started in November 2022, wherein laying of the new trunk main of the Margao sewage system is in progress under the Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Limited (SIDCGL).
The department has set a target to complete the pending works by May 2023, including the major task of constructing manholes from the South Goa Collectorate building to the Old Market Circle at Margao.