Times of India | 1 hour ago | 05-11-2022 | 04:40 pm
MARGAO: A war of words has broken out between Curchorem MLA and PWD minister, Nilesh Cabral, and councillor and former chairperson of Curchorem Cacora Municipal Council (CCMC), Balkrishna Hodarkar, over the ongoing construction of the municipality-owned commercial complex at Curchorem. Hodarkar on Friday accused Cabral of instigating traders against him after he, alongwith several other councillors, inspected the construction site and voiced his disapproval over the “negligent” manner in which the piling work for the new building was being carried out and that it could threaten the safety of the adjacent old buildings. Cabral, on the other hand, accused Hodarkar of misguiding traders and reassured the people that enough care will be taken to ensure that no damage is caused to the adjoining structures. Hodarkar told reporters that none of the councillors had any objection to the construction of the new commercial complex as was made to believe, but that they were only concerned about the foundations of the adjoining buildings getting damaged on account of the piling work. “The old municipal building was razed after it was declared unsafe by the municipality. The traders were forcibly vacated from the building nearly five years ago and they have been suffering losses ever since. If Cabral was so concerned about the “unsafe” 50-year-old building, he should have been equally concerned over the threat posed to the nearly 100-year-old adjacent buildings from the piling work being done,” Hodarkar said. Cabral dismissed Hodarkar’s concerns as “baseless” and “unfounded”. He said that the piling work has been undertaken for construction of a concrete retaining wall around the building so as to shore up the subsoil and protect the adjoining structures from any damage during further excavation for the building construction. Cabral said that he would ensure that the building is completed within a year-and-a-half and that all displaced traders are shifted back to the new building. Taking a dig at Cabral, Hodarkar hoped that the PWD minister would live up to his assurance considering that the new CCMC administration building took over five years to complete. “I hope, at least driven by my provocation, Cabral expedites the construction work and the displaced traders get back to business,” Hodarkar said.
