PONDA: The residents of Ponda have been subjected to hardship daily, as the roads dug up for laying sewerage lines have not been restored yet, despite the Collector setting a deadline of May 30 for completing the work and even warning the officials concerned that they would be fined for failing to meet the deadline. 

With the rains lashing the State, the roads have become muddy and slippery increasing the risk of accidents. The residents of Nagzar Curti are the worst hit.

Nagzar resident Premanand Naik said that, 11 months ago the road was dug up for laying sewerage lines there, but it is yet to be tarred. 

“The road was dug up for a distance of 35 meters for building a sewerage chamber. But it has not been restored yet. And with the arrival of monsoon, the road has now become slippery, muddy and dangerous even to walk,” he said. 

He said that the sewage work has not been completed and that after the rainy season, the contractor would again dig up the road. “This is the second time the road was dug up,” Naik said.

When contacted, an official said that they are trying their best to complete the work, but it got delayed due to shortage of labourers. Besides, huge boulders found at Nagzar further delayed the work, he said. 

However, the locals are furious over the reply of the officials and asked them why they had not restored the road before May 31 as per the Collector’s order. The locals complained that due to heavy vibration of drilling machine used for removing boulders, their houses had developed cracks.