Margao/Canacona: Residents of Chinchinim have renewed their demand for govt to reconsider the highway alignment for the six-laning of NH-66, insisting that the bypass alignment proposed by the villagers be adopted instead of the elevated corridor currently earmarked for the Dandeavaddo stretch.The residents said the selected alignment would bring the elevated corridor perilously close to homes, exposing families to noise, dust and air pollution and posing a long-term health hazard, particularly to the elderly and infirm.“For over 10 years, we have been agitating for a bypass at Dandeavaddo. Three MLAs have made verbal assurances, but nothing concrete has come of it,” said resident Nelson Lopes, who has been at the forefront of the agitation.Lopes said an alternative alignment, among three routes flagged earlier by authorities, remains a more cost-effective option since it would avoid fresh land acquisition, sidestep two problematic junctions, and spare residents a second displacement after past resettlement. He said the Chinchinim communidade has assured release of the required land for the bypass, with compensation of Rs 13 per sqm returnable with interest if needed.Representations to the collector, chief minister, PWD and Union ministers have yielded only the standard response that the alignment “has not been finalised,” Lopes said, even as fresh land acquisition and a shift of the alignment north-east have already gone ahead. He flagged the freezing of land 40m on either side of the highway as compounding the distress of affected families.Locals said that the road was originally acquired as a two-lane major district road, and termed its subsequent conversion into a four-lane highway with a flyover “chicanery.” They argued that highways ought to skirt densely populated zones wherever feasible.Residents and panchayat members have demanded that the concerned authorities first disclose the detailed highway plan and alignment, and hold a joint meeting with all stakeholders before proceeding with further work. They specifically sought a meeting involving the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the public works department (PWD), residents, and Velim MLA Cruz Silva.
