The spree of accidents in Goa does not seem to be stopping and continues to snuff out lives almost every single day. On Thursday, within hours three lives were lost due to fatal accidents. Javed Sadekar of Margao, who was residing in Aldona was flung into the Mandovi River after his two-wheeler was hit head-on by a rent-a-car driven by an Odisha native on the Old Mandovi Bridge. The car driver was found driving under the influence of alcohol and has been arrested for culpable homicide. Javed’s body surfaced near one of the casino vessels in Mandovi, after more than 36 hours of the tragic incident. Around the same time, Shaukat Ali, a resident of Alto-Dabolim, was crushed under the rear wheels of a truck near the Dabolim junction railway over bridge (ROB). Shaukat was trying to avoid crashing into the ROB’s pedestrian path when he was caught in the rear wheels of the truck that was moving parallel to him. In a third accident, a senior citizen, Gopal Gaonkar, was knocked down near the Holy Cross Shrine at Bambolim while crossing the road.
These are three of the hundreds of accidents that occur on Goan roads every year and hundreds of lives lost in fatal accidents. Since New Year, 50 persons have lost their lives in fatal accidents. There have been on average around 9 accidents every day since January 1, this year.
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Transport Minister, Mauvin Godinho, who was quick to react, on Friday, said that rental vehicle owners did not follow the guidelines and SOPs while renting their vehicles. He asserted that tourists when in Goa forget that they need to follow the rules and the vehicle owners too do not ensure that their vehicles are handed over after following the due process of verifying the driving experience of the tourists.
The National Highways expansion work has been going on for nearly a decade now. From Pollem to Patradevi and Mollem to Panjim, as the State has been witnessing road construction and expansion activities, there has been a sudden rise in the number of accidents and equally a rise in the number of fatalities. While the Transport Minister after attending a State Road Safety Council meeting expressed discontent over the non-attendance of the crucial meeting by various departmental heads, he has nearly shrugged off the responsibility from the government’s shoulders.
One common problem in all three fatal accidents on Thursday is the road engineering. Without any technical education, a layman will easily point out that while the approach roads before and after the three Mandovi bridges are one-way, only the old and new Mandovi bridges have two-way traffic flow. The Dabolim accident was a result of the narrowing of the road only at the ROB. At Bambolim, how do the government’s road engineers defend placing a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the highway with a nursing college, IPHB and religious structures around?
As for the enforcement, the traffic police wait to ‘prey’ upon vehicles at critical points, such as when you take a left turn or in the shadow of large trees. It is not fear of the police that will stop riders and drivers from breaking the rules but the confidence that the presence of the police is for the goodwill that will ensure smooth traffic flow that will help in better road sense. There is no point in attempting to instill fear amongst the public, however, what can work is holding those in authority responsible and placing accountability on the officials who have been entrusted with the responsibility.
