This may be good news for Margao, or is it not? The Centre has approved a State government’s proposal of a flyover between Victor Hospital and La Flor Hotel helping connectivity along the ring road on the south-western side of the city. Unfortunately, another flyover project that was awaiting clearance near the traffic-congested Comba railway crossing did not get the nod, leaving one to wonder whether the government has ignored priorities.
The approval of Victor Hospital flyover does not become a preference by any yardstick. Consider this. The approved flyover may help in connectivity and facilitate the movement of traffic to a certain extent. But a few metres away, after the end-point of the flyover at La Flor Hotel, there is a railway crossing that very frequently cuts off the road traffic leading to massive traffic snarls with the dingy subway further down that stretch not helping.
A flyover near the level crossing is a necessity because the route is a busy one since there are educational institutes, and establishments and the road links other areas like Khareband and Benaulim to the city. Prioritising the Victor Hospital flyover does not make sense when there is such an urgent requirement in the vicinity, for which a proposal has already been moved much earlier.
Moreover, the estimated time for completion of the flyover is around two years, during which time, in the eventuality of a Comba flyover not getting the Central nod, there would be further stress at level crossing given the increased rail traffic after the double-tracking project is flagged off. The frequency of passenger and goods trains is bound to go up exponentially. Imagine a situation where the level crossing comes down a hundred times a day putting road traffic movement on hold.
Secondly, the Victor Hospital flyover, once operational, would add more traffic on the ring road further adding to the chaos at the level crossing and the Comba subway. The purpose of facilitating the movement of traffic on the ring road will be defeated because there will be a bottleneck at the narrow Comba subway which is not designed to handle higher traffic.
While the move to get approval for the Victor Hospital-La Flor Hotel flyover ahead of the Comba project would pacify anxious migrants whose residences stood in the way of the ring road, it will expose the short-sightedness of the government. A delay here does not hurt anyone, nor does it affect the movement of traffic relative to the mess that is foreseen at Comba. That brings us to the point of the government's lack of confidence in securing approval from the Centre for a second flyover.
The need of the hour is decongestion of traffic, and a flyover at the Comba rail crossing would go a long way in facilitating that. Before the processes begin, the Margao MLA must introspect, rethink priorities and shift his focus to development with the larger interest of Margao in mind.
