Long-awaited project remains on hold due to unresolved land and alignment issues
The Davorlim railway crossing.
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
Hazard a guess on the status of the foundation stone laid by former Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu for the construction of a flyover at the Davorlim railway crossing located on the outskirts of Margao.
Well, almost a decade after the foundation stone was laid with much fanfare by the then Railway Minister, the flyover issue had an echo in Parliament on Thursday after Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Tanavade highlighted the plight and hardships faced by the residents of Davorlim village due to the frequent closure of the Davorlim railway crossing.
This has only thrown up a question or two for the railway authorities, including the Konkan Railway Corporation and the South Western Railway to answer – what has come in the way of the railways executing the flyover project at Davorlim to date?
When 'The Goan' called up Konkan Railway Corporation Deputy General Manager, Public Relations, Baban Ghatge to shed light on the Davorlim flyover proposal, he confirmed that the former Railway Minister had laid the foundation stone for the flyover at Davorlim around a decade ago.
Ghatge, however, said that the project got derailed due to intervening factors such as the flyover alignment as well as the land required for the construction of the approach roads to the flyover. “It is a fact that the former Union railway minister had laid the foundation stone, but the project did not take off due to land and alignment issues,” he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP from Goa raised the issue in Parliament after local Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuemkar took up the matter with Tanavade given the hardships faced by the people of Davorlim. “The flyover at the Davorlim railway crossing is a necessity due to the movement of people and vehicles. A flyover at Davorlim is the long-pending demand of the people of the village and surrounding areas,” Tuemkar told 'The Goan'.
In his address in the Rajya Sabha, MP Tanavade said the Davorlim railway crossing experiences heavy train movement with over 20 to 30 trains passing daily. “The gate remains closed for 20 to 25 minutes per cycle, causing severe traffic congestion, particularly during peak hours. This disruption affects students, working professionals, and commuters, forcing many to take longer routes, leading to unnecessary inconvenience, traffic jams, fuel wastage, and increased travel time,” he said.
He added: “There is a strong public demand for a flyover at this railway crossing. More than 30,000 people, including residents of Curtorim, Navelim, and Velim constituencies, as well as surrounding villages and Margao city, will benefit from this much-needed infrastructure. The flyover will significantly reduce congestion and accommodate the increased traffic from the upcoming educational hub in Davorlim, which will house over 30 schools from Margao city and surrounding constituencies.”
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No progress despite track doubling
MARGAO: Around mid-March 2021, the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) managed to lay the double track at the Davorlim railway crossing after facing protests from track-doubling protesters.
The laying of the double track ensured the completion of the doubling tracking project up to Margao, paving the way for the running of South Western Railway trains on the tracks.
However, four years down the line, neither the SWR nor the RVNL or the Konkan Railway Corporation has bothered to build a flyover at the Davorlim railway crossing and mitigate the hardships faced by the people of Davorlim and surrounding villages.
Though Davorlim falls under the jurisdiction of the Konkan Railway Corporation, sources say nothing stops the Railway Vikas Nigam Ltd from building a flyover at the railway crossing when the RVNL is executing the track doubling project worth hundreds of crores.
When 'The Goan' called up a senior RVNL official to shed light on the failure of the agency to build a flyover at the Davorlim railway crossing, he agreed that a flyover is a dire necessity at the crossing given the increasing frequency of trains running on the track.
The official said RVNL will prepare the estimates for the construction of a flyover at Davorlim before sending the proposal to the higher-ups for approval.
