GOG is not a typo. It stands for Government of Goa! And we better watch out for what it's going to do to what's left of our huffing and puffing road transport system.
Yesterday's (Aug 11) TIMES OF INDIA had two stories belly to belly. One was "Delhi goes KL way, opts for monorail". The other says "In Goa as well". Delhi is to build a 60 km system as feeders to the Metro. A 15 km stretch is to be taken up as a pilot project which would take 2-3 years. Note that Delhi would be trying frantically to spruce things up for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It is common knowlege that though monorails have been around for 50 odd years, internationally they have mostly been used so far in a light duty way i.e. in amusement parks, connecting tourist destinations or for relatively short distances. Its big advantage is that it is supposed to be relatively cheap at Rs 35-40 crore per km. Now let's take a look at GOG's plan. It is to link the big urban points of Mapusa, Panjim and Margao, spanning a distance of about 40 km. The "tracks are expected to run along side the [highway]". The project is expected to be completed in 18 months. The cost can be put at around Rs1.4K crores. Now wait a minute. Will the construction of the untried and untested Indian monorail in Goa interfere with the operation of heavy traffic on the existing highway? The Delh monorail though it totals 60 km does not run this risk as it is intended as feeders. Each feeder is isolated from the other and from the main Metro rail line. Turnpike traffic in Goa is however likely to be in a real mess for the duration of the construction and, if there are the inevitable remedial jobs to be undertaken after a monsoon or two, for a long time thereafter. The state of DB Marg in Panjim may be a good forerunner of things to come. Only the scale will be different. Dont say you have not been warned! The HERALD (Aug 12) has a good editorial "Think Simple" questioning the wisdom of monorail in Goa.
