A day after the first deadline, Managing Director Sanjit Rodrigues of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) declared that the roadworks under the Panaji Smart City project are 90% complete. He explained the challenges faced in maintaining the tempo and exuded confidence in meeting the May 31 date. The IPSCDL followed it up with a submission in the High Court on Wednesday explaining the position of Smart City works.
The developments, however, are met with cautious optimism, especially by the people of the capital city who have endured long years of incessant construction work, digging and re-digging and facing clouds of dust that piled endless misery on them prompting even the High Court judges to descend on the ground.
The Smart City project has left a painful trail that cannot be wiped off through deadlines and timelines because lives have been scarred. The only solace is that the worst is over. While the work moves towards the May 31 deadline, the focus must shift sharply from completion to quality of work, especially with the monsoon season barely two months away.
Panaji has a notorious history of flooding, with authorities often attributing this plight to its low-lying geography and tidal patterns. The expectations of residents are justifiably high as the project showcases new drains, walkways, concrete roads engineered to tackle the flow of water, and upgraded sewage pipelines, all essential upgrades that ought to provide relief from any deluge.
However, the frantic pace of work, the haphazard re-digging of hot mixed roads and the chaos that surrounded the project have raised doubts over quality. The complex sewer line network and unstable soil conditions at a few places could test the structural integrity of completed works. While the deadline was playing in the foreground, the debate on the quality of work lay buried and so were the calls for an audit.
We recall the mangrove boardwalk project conceptualised by IPSCDL across 1,100 sqmts with a wooden walkway that was projected as an ecological attraction emulating the one in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Opened with much fanfare in 2018, the once-majestic broadwalk is now in ruins with planks and barricades crumbling. Panjimites would feel cheated if the chinks in the smart city surfaced sooner.
The bottom line is that there has to be accountability. The question is whether IPSCDL, including its MD, will stand up to scrutiny if things go awry, or will residents be left helpless victims? Past experiences paint a horrible picture of infrastructure, whether it is wobbly roads or a crumbling boardwalk, and these evoke scepticism. While the declaration of 90% completion may provide momentary relief to Panjimites who have long waited for a reprieve from the construction chaos, all eyes must turn toward the quality of work. Residents should remain vigilant and demand accountability from city fathers and contractors alike.
As the rains approach, so does the urgency for genuine transformation, and people deserve nothing less than infrastructure that stands up to tests. While we reflect on this monumental journey of an upgraded capital, let us be hopeful yet critical, as the future of Panaji depends not just on completing projects, but on ensuring they stand the test of time.
