Potholes and the monsoon in Goa is a phenomenon that plays out annually. The rains create deep ruts in the roads, and the Public Works Department hastily repairs the potholes to make the roads motorable. A few more showers of rain and the pothole re-appears, often bigger in size than it earlier was. This continues and the monsoon is blamed. It is a very casual attitude displayed by the government and the Public Works Department in this matter that displays the utter callousness of both towards the people using the roads. The taxpayers deserve better roads, but the government apparently does not believe this. Is there any other explanation for the attitude of the government towards the road conditions?
The government responds only after the people react. People have now asked what happened to the promise made by the Public Works Department Minister that all the potholes would be repaired before Ganesh Chaturthi? They were not repaired and Ganesh idols were taken home for installation and then for immersion after being venerated on the potholed roads of Goa. The callousness displayed is indicative of a government that does not respond even to genuine concerns of the people, is not aware of the needs of the people and does not deliver. It wakes up only when there are protests. Somehow, other than viral videos of the potholed roads, there are no protests so there is little action from the government in remedying the situation.
The easy way out for the government is to blame the monsoon, as the latter cannot refute. But is it only that? Or is bad engineering and substandard material also to blame for the potholes? Has the contractor who undertook the road construction been made to pay for the repairs? Or, has the contractor who built the road ever been asked for an explanation of why the potholes are occurring? Shouldn’t the firm that constructs the road be held accountable? While issuing the work order the government must include a liability clause that will hold the contractor liable for any repairs. The system of paying for the road construction and then the government also paying for the repairs cannot continue. It is the taxpayer’s money that is being used for this.
In September last year, when the same issue had arisen, the Public Works Department Minister had promised that once all the road works in the State were completed – including the national highways – Goa would get motorable surfaces that would last ten years. The works have not yet been completed and the condition of the roads has deteriorated further. To aggravate the situation, an arm of the Atal Setu too had to be closed to traffic as it developed potholes less than three years after being constructed. Such is the condition of the roads in Goa and there appears to be no quick solution in sight as the authorities remain unconcerned.
By now, this being an annual phenomenon, the least that Goa should have had is a system in place to attend to the cavernous cracks on the roads. It doesn’t and still relies on temporary filling with a mixture of tar and rubble and sometimes even just mud. Year after year, it is only such temporary repairs that are being carried out, without any permanent solution being found for the recurring problem. It is almost as if the government cannot be bothered about a permanent solution to the potholes. All that Goans are asking for is motorable roads that they can drive on without a bumpy ride, is that too much to ask? Or is it too much to seek from the government in return for the taxes paid?
