The Works

| 2005 |

Events that hinder traffic on Aldona bridge

Ever since it was thrown open to traffic, the cable-stayed bridge at Aldona has been the cynosure of all eyes. But its unique architecture has slowly attracted unexpected events and activities on the bridge, thereby

depriving people and vehicles of access to the bridge. If the Aldona bridge was closed to all traffic on 2-3 December, 2004 on account of the grand IFFI dinner party on the bridge, the situation was no different exactly two months later, when residents and commuters suddenly found themselves prevented from crossing the Aldona bridge on Wednesday (February 2) evening.

In both cases, the presence of Bollywood stars prompted the closure of the bridge and in both instances, there was no notice or prior intimation to the public regarding the event.

On Wednesday evening, the shooting of a Bollywood film on the Aldona bridge led to the sudden closure of the bridge.

The unannounced activity and the presence of Bollywood stars may have drawn a large number of curious onlookers, but the incident evoked sharp criticism from a number of residents of Aldona, especially those who regularly cross the Aldona bridge.

Denied access to the bridge, one resident on his regular evening walk across the bridge defied the private security personnel and adamantly walked on the bridge.

"As part of my regular walk, I reached near the Aldona bridge at about 5.45 pm on Wednesday, when I saw a big crowd of people. There were lots of buses and cars, and I was informed that some Bollywood shooting was in progress," explained Octaviano Ferrao of Aldona.

The private security at the bridge prevented pedestrians from crossing the bridge, while two police constables were stationed at the approach road to maintain law and order.

A furious Mr Ferrao then confronted the two cops and asked them to justify the closure of the Aldona bridge to traffic and pedestrians.

"When they could not reply to my query on who ordered the closure of the bridge, I proceeded for my walk. Initially, I was stopped by the private security, but I continued to walk across the Aldona bridge,’ Mr Ferrao added.

There was a large crowd and a number of vehicles at the Corjuem end of the bridge as well. Mr Ferrao then returned to the two constables who were patrolling the area. " I asked them if they would allow us to park our vehicles on the Aldona bridge on any given day," said Mr Ferrao.

"The constables admitted that it was wrong, but they said they couldn’t do anything in the matter," he added.

The Bollywood crew and equipment later cleared off by about 7 pm and Aldona bridge was then open to traffic.

And incidentally, it seems that the Aldona panchayat was not intimated about of the closure of the bridge.

When contacted, local panch Joao Rosario Fernandes said he was not informed that the bridge was to be closed on Wednesday, specially since one side of the bridge falls in his ward.

While deciding to raise the issue at the next panchayat meeting, Mr Fernandes insisted that the government should ensure that there is no inconvenience to the public, once the bridge is thrown open to the public.

"If they want to use the bridge for private functions or activities, due notice should be given to the public and a proper system should be in place for the organisation of the event," said Mr Fernandes.

"The benefit of using the bridge for private functions and activities should go to the panchayat for its developmental activities," the panch added.

It may be recalled that the Aldona bridge had been closed on December 2 and 3, 2004, when then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar decided to host a grand IFFI dinner on the bridge.

But while the authorities went gaga over the function, a number of people in Aldona were not amused that the bridge was closed to them due to dinner bash for the IFFI guests.

The IFFI party on the bridge had drawn widespread criticism from Aldona Zilla Panchayat member Jose D’Souza and other panchas of Aldona panchayat, as they complained that neither they nor the people of Aldona were informed of the event.

However, there were some others, including Aldona Sarpanch Premanand Prabhu, who had insisted that it would be an honour for Aldonkars if mega events were to be hosted on the Aldona bridge.

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