On account of utter negligence by the authorities, a part of the wall of the 388 year old Panjim-Ribandar causeway has caved in at the Ribandar end. This causeway which was once considered the longest bridge in Asia, and is perhaps India’s oldest has been in a perilous state for long. A part of this causeway wall towards the Panjim end had given way on the eve of Diwali last year.
Built in 1634 for horse-drawn carriages, it has withstood the devastation of decades with all sorts of heavy traffic. Infact in 2016, based on a report of technical experts, the then North Goa Collector Nila Mohanan had declared this causeway unsafe for heavy traffic and had ordered that traffic be stopped.
But the government has slept over the issue for the last seven long years while the state of the causeway has been fast deteriorating by the day. It is literally hanging on borrowed time and now in a very dilapidated condition. The authorities responsible must be held criminally liable for their willful neglect of this crucial historic causeway. All the cosmetic repairs by engineering quacks has only been public money down the drain.
Before any major disaster occurs, it is now imperative that traffic movement be immediately restricted on this causeway. The government must act swiftly to carry out necessary remedial measures of this causeway along which one gets an awesome panoramic and scenic view. Restricting it to non vehicular traffic, perhaps promoting pedestrianisation may be the only way forward to save this Portuguese era heritage.
