Katia Goes
Panjim is in the thick of Smart City works under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD).
The Smart City project is an all-India project with the objective of creating core infrastructure and improving the quality of life to its citizens.
Ironically, this project is causing the citizens of Panjim and those travelling to the city a great deal of inconvenience.
With more than one kilometre of the road at Tonca dug up and left open, residents are finding it hard to even walk.
Not forgetting the traffic jams, dust pollution, restricted entry and the fact that there is close to no road to even ride a bicycle.
People are forced to walk on the dug roads because they have been left with little or no option.
The Smart City works undertaken by different agencies in Panjim are on schedule, except for one of the two agencies which is executing the work at a slow pace, according to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Residents are hoping that the works will not stretch upto the arrival of rains and compound the flooding problem in the city.