Ponda underpass work paused by gas pipe hurdle

Ponda: The national highway division of the PWD is waiting for Goa Natural Gas to shift its pipeline that is being laid in the middle of the under-construction Ponda KTC underpass. Officials attached to the underpass work have said that they cannot complete digging for the underpass unless the gas pipeline is shifted.
Work on the underpass is being carried out on a war footing. The contractor has already commissioned half of the underpass.
“We have written to the gas company to shift the line and are awaiting a favourable response,” said an engineer.
An official from the gas company said that the pipeline cannot be shifted though it could be kept hanging with support till the work is completed.
The completion of the underpass work is important as the widening of the national highway stretch between Shapur-Ponda and Bhoma village will be taken up only after the underpass is ready.
The road contractor has already started digging, but workers have to protect a 4-metre-wide part of a hillock to prevent the pipeline from crashing down. The pipeline carries cooking natural gas and if the pipeline falls, the network may collapse.
The underpass is needed because it is now risky to turn to the main road opposite Safa Masjid to reach the KTC bus stand.
It would also serve as an alternative to people travelling from Chirputem and Shahpur who are facing hardship in reaching their respective areas.