Panaji: State govt on Monday kept construction of the proposed Mirabag bandhara project in abeyance until the end of the monsoon. This comes after the people of Sanvordem on Saturday demanded that govt scrap the project by Monday, or they would intensify their agitation.WRD minister Subhash Shirodkar said govt will not go ahead with the construction of the bandhara. “Neither in the next two months nor in the monsoon will we take up construction. The people will be happy, you (reporters) will be happy, and I am happy too,” Shirodkar said.When asked whether govt took a decision to scrap the project, Shirodkar said, “I will speak with the chief minister and BJP state president and take a final decision on the project.”On the first day of the budget assembly session four people protested in the visitors’ gallery with placards and shouted slogans against the bandhara project at Mirabag. They were escorted out of the gallery by security personnel. Opposition MLAs also rushed to the well of the House to raise the issue.Tempers flared at Sanvordem on Saturday when locals questioned WRD authorities following a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed Mirabag bandhara project. The locals, raising several queries, sought scrapping of the project. Tension mounted as they were not satisfied with the responses and told the officials to study the matter and return.Locals objected to the project, stating that they were not taken into confidence, and said that they feared it could pose a threat to their houses along the riverbank.
