Team Herald
PONDA: Locals and senior citizens from Curti Housing Board Colony have raised serious concerns about the deteriorating state of the roads in their area, which they claim have been in poor condition for the past eight years. The residents have warned the Public Works Department (PWD) that they will stage a ‘rasta roko’ if the roads are not repaired within the next 15 days.
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Residents have expressed frustration over the continuous dust pollution and the ongoing suffering due to the bad road conditions, particularly for elderly residents and have demanded that the authorities take immediate action to fix the roads.
The residents have urged the PWD to at least carry out temporary repairs to make the roads motorable and provide some relief to the local population.
According to Prakash Sawant, the Chairman of the Housing Board Colony, the internal road that runs from JC Nagar to the colony connects to the Ponda-Panjim Highway and is frequently used by commuters as a shortcut to avoid the crowded Ponda market. The road was dug up some time ago for the installation of sewage manholes and electricity cables, but despite this, no further repairs or hot-mixing have been carried out, leaving the road in a severely deteriorated state.
“The road was dug for sewage manholes, but no work has progressed since then. This has resulted in traffic chaos, particularly near the school in Curti,” Sawant said.
With the continuous flow of vehicles, dust pollution has become a significant issue, leading to health problems such as breathing difficulties, particularly for children and the elderly.
Sawant also pointed out that there are around 114 flats, 20 bungalows, and a school with 700 students situated along the road, yet the PWD has not taken any action to repair it.
The PWD has stated that road repairs cannot proceed due to the ongoing work on the sewage network. However, residents argue that if the road cannot be hot-mixed, the authorities should at least carry out patchwork to repair the potholes and make the road more passable.
Former Sarpanch Shailesh Shet warned that if the road is not repaired within the next 15 days, locals will take to the streets to stage a ‘Rasta Roko’ to draw the attention of the authorities to their plight.
Local resident Vinayak Naik has also appealed to Ponda MLA to intervene and address the issue, urging him to provide relief to the residents of Curti.
