Team Herald

PONDA: Curti residents are furious over the frequent accidents occurring on national highway Junction near Damayanti garage and even damaged window panes of a bus to draw the attention of authorities to their protest.

Sharli Dias, a local, said that several accidents are taking place at the Curti junction due to lack of safety measures and sign boards. 

“There are so many roads joining at the junction and the drivers get confused on reaching the junction which in turn leads to accidents, including fatal ones,” Dias said.

Two days ago, a scooter rider from Sanquelim, while crossing the junction, came under wheels of a Kadamaba bus and got killed. And on the next day (Tuesday), three people from Curti, including a minor, suffered injuries when a tourist bus hit the motorcycle on which they were proceeding.

The Curti junction is a main junction on Ponda-Belgaum highway where roads proceeding to Panjim and Upper Bazaar in Ponda join. This makes the junction accident prone. However, authorities have failed to put in safety measures. 

According to locals an underpass is needed at the junction to prevent accidents.

The elevated national highway obstructs the visibility of vehicles proceeding from service road opposite Sahakari Plantation and thus leads to fatal accidents.