Mumbai: A day after the girder of an overbridge being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed in Chiplun, Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad has demanded that the government should issue a white paper on the highway to determine the shoddy work conducted on the bridge.
Varsha Gaikwad, former education minister and current Mumbai Congress president has demanded a white paper to determine the shoddy work over the bridge collapse.
“If the highway is not completed despite several years of work and crores of rupees were spent, then there is corruption going on. As a result, the Mumbai Congress has demanded that a white paper should be drawn up on the stalled and inferior work of the Mumbai-Goa highway. If they have not done anything wrong, then they should not be afraid,” said Gaikwad.
For several months, there has been a furore over the bad conditions of the Mumbai-Goa highway. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the highway will be in good condition. “The highway was going to be four-lane. However, work on the stretch is going on at a snail’s pace. The work has been going on for many years now but the condition remains worse,” he said.
“Even Public Works Minister Ravindra Chavan had announced to bring this road in better condition before Ganeshotsav which ended last month. However, the announcement turned out to be one of many false promises,” Gaikwad added.
A pillar at the under-construction site of the Mumbai-Goa four-lane highway in Chiplun city of Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district collapsed on 16 October. Soon after the pillar collapse, a portion of the flyover also collapsed which damaged a crane machine used at the site.
