PWD told to make Anmod Ghat road ready by Sep 15

Ponda: The South Goa collector has asked the PWD’s national highway division to ready the Anmod Ghat road for heavy vehicles by Sep 15.The collector, Egna Cleetus, had earlier imposed a restriction on heavy vehicles on that route for 60 days till Sep 2.

However, that deadline lapsed last week.Executive engineer Satyendra Bhobe of the highway division said that an inspection of ongoing work was carried out last week along with deputy collector Nilesh Ghaigodkar, Ponda traffic PI Krishna Sinari, and other officials. After the inspection, the officials estimated that 10 more days are required to complete the work.A 50-year-old and 80-metre-long wall holding road on Anmod Ghat collapsed on July 5 due to heavy rainfall and considering that the continued movement of heavy vehicles on the damaged stretch poses a serious risk to public safety and could lead to further deterioration of the road infrastructure, the collector had imposed restriction on the heavy vehicle traffic. “We have got an extension from the South Goa collector till Sep 15 to complete the pending work,” Bhobe told TOI.So far, the highway division has strengthened the collapsed portion with concrete structures, but the erection of steel barricades and signboards, as well as the trimming of tree branches that block drivers’ vision, are still to be done.While heavy commercial vehicles face restrictions, essential service vehicles and passenger transport buses are allowed to operate normally on the affected stretch.As the Anmod Ghat section serves as an important link between Goa and Karnataka, the traffic restrictions are expected to affect commercial transportation between the two states.