Islanders blame delayed ramp work for disruptions
Shahin Bepari Lambe
Panaji: Residents of Divar faced major inconvenience on Tuesday after the road leading to the ferry point was submerged due to high tide, forcing suspension of ferry services for several hours and leaving commuters stranded. This is not the first time the islanders have experienced such disruption, with similar incidents occurring repeatedly over the years.
Sarpanch of Goltim-Navelim, Divar, Mario Pinto, said that a planned ramp construction that could have prevented the flooding was started but later abandoned.
He said the Divar Panchayat had formally requested Minister Subhash Phal Dessai in 2022 to raise the height of the road leading to the ferry. At the time, the minister had assured action.
Pinto blamed the delay in ramp work for the present situation. “If the ramp extension work had been done on time, this situation wouldn’t have arrived,” he said.
Local resident Ramdas Borkar said, “Due to the high tide, roads were flooded and we had to wait for more than two hours,” he said. “Around seven four-wheelers, 10 motorbikes and two luggage rickshaws were just stranded with no clue where to go.”
Borkar added that the Panchayat had earlier suggested increasing the ramp height by at least half a metre to prevent waterlogging. “There is no way we can come out of Divar as it is an island and we have to take a ferry from Old Goa, Ribandar or Narve,” he said.
Contractor Rajesh Haldankar said that even with ramp extensions, flooding cannot be completely ruled out. “There was a nine-metre extension done for Chodan ferry ramp but still there is flooding. There was only a four-metre extension planned for Divar. However, the work will immediately start after Chaturthi and will take a minimum of three months to complete. We can work only during low tide so we have to see the tides and do the work,” he said.
Haldankar added that the work order had been issued earlier but for some reason, the work was not initiated.
