Tired of waiting for the local panchayat to act and clear the bushes and overhead branches that were creating obstacles, bus owners in Curca decided to clear the road themselves.
Speaking to Herald, bus owner Olympio Rodrigues said he had brought up the issue at the recent gram sabha of Curca that the thick bushes and the overhead branches had become hurdles to the bus drivers who were finding it difficult to navigate the steep slope and requested the panchayat to cut the bushes and trim the branches.
“However, three weeks had passed since the gram sabha and there was no sign of any help forthcoming from the local authorities. Hence all the bus owners got together and decided to do the job ourselves,” Rodrigues added. They did it on Sunday.
Another bus owner, Uday Chodankar, said they have hired two bush cutting machines at Rs 2,000 each and also hired services of some labourers to do the job.
“We couldn’t wait any longer as several accidents have occurred along this stretch of the steep slope due to the overgrown bushes,” Chodankar said, and added that since everybody was free, it was decided to do the job on Sunday.
Chodankar also said that the bus owners have themselves contributed towards the cost of clearing the bushes and cutting the branches.
Apart from Rodrigues and Chodankar, other bus drivers include Vithal Narvekar, Tukaram Vernekar, Pradip Vernekar and Durgesh Redkar while the bus drivers and conductors have also lent their help.
