PONDA: Two days of heavy rain fall caused a massive landslide on Thursday at Kerya in Curti on National Highway where construction of a four-lane road is on progress.

The landslide incident was reported to Ponda Deputy Collector Vishal Kundaikar and Mamlatdar Abeer Hede who inspected the site and cleared the debris on road using a JCB earth mover. 

Deputy Collector Vishal Kundaikar also directed the authorities to cut down the trees along the road as the same are likely to collapse due to dangerous vertical hill cutting by NH authorities. 

Kundaikar further directed the authorities to build a safety barricade for traffic passing below the hill cutting site and widen the road stretch so that vehicles could pass safely even if there is a landslide along the road.

Meanwhile, locals Sandeep Parkar, Rocky Dias and Gokuldas Naik have blamed the negligence of national highway authorities for the landslide.

“Hills cut are vertically without giving slope and steps. Besides traffic, pedestrians and school children use this road. Moreover, NH authorities have encroached upon the pathways leading to our houses and as a result we have to walk on main road to reach our houses,” Rocky Dias said.