The Goa government recently issued show-cause notices to more than 100 contractors with much fanfare and said government engineers would be held responsible for any accident due to potholes on roads in the coastal state.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds the Public Works Department (PWD) portfolio, announced that roads in the state would be pothole-free by the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
The CM said he has instructed senior PWD officials that if there is any accident due to a pothole on a road, then the engineer concerned would be held responsible and action would be initiated against him/her.
Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most prominent festivals of Goa, is just over a week away and the pot-holed ridden roads continue to wreak havoc in Goa.
Last Sunday, Allaudin Shaikh, a senior citizen from Dhanlaxminagar Apartments, Bhatlem-Panjim smashed his face while trying to ride his two-wheeler on a paved road.
The accident occurred on Sunday night when Shaikh was returning home. On reaching Bhatlem, his two-wheeler fell in a damaged pavers and he was thrown on the road causing severe injuries to his face. He received injury to his eye and the forehead and was rushed in an ambulance to the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim. He was discharged on Monday evening. Thankfully he survived. The accident could have easily been fatal.
The irony here is, the Bhatlem road stretch was hot-mixed in May this year and was washed away within two months causing several potholes making it difficult for the motorists and two-wheeler riders to use the road. To add to their woes, the pavers which were laid hardly a week ago, have now got exposed, posing risk to the motorists and even pedestrians.
This is just one of the examples of road accidents happening in Goa due to bad roads. Unfortunately, there is no accountability. Our politicians love playing to the gallery by making grand announcements, like the one made by the CM against PWD engineers. But on ground, there is no change in the situation because of corruption rules. Nothing will change unless there is a massive public protest against bad roads.
According to a report prepared by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in 2019, the bad condition of roads in Goa accounted for one-third of the accidents. Out of the 3,440 road accidents that took place in Goa in 2019, 1,160 occurred because of the condition of roads, leading to 66 deaths.
The dangerous road conditions and the sharp rise in road accidents have been dominating the public debate in Goa for the last many years. The uneven road surface and the potholes menace during this monsoon season has probably been the worst in the history of liberated Goa.
While crores of rupees from the public exchequer are being invested into widening the roads in Goa, and particularly with the compromised engineering codes and poor construction quality, what is sooner than later going to haunt Goans and bleed the State’s treasury is the huge maintenance costs of these roads.
The boastful claims of the government on its so-called record breaking speed in road network construction in the country, certainly doesn’t match the international standards. This is evident from the rise in fatal road accidents. Incidentally, more than reducing travel time these treacherous roads – be it the arterial roads or the national highways – are cutting short many people’s lives.
With an insensitive and arrogant political governance in place, which does not adhere to the internationally prescribed road designs and engineering codes, it is time for Goans to stand up and fight back, just like it does whenever the government tries to shove big projects inside the throats of the people.
In fact, the problem of poor roads causing road accidents is not just endemic to Goa. This cancer has spread across the country. The movement against this disease has to start from Goa by people taking to streets and demanding accountability from the government.
It should lead the nation by voting against candidates who can’t even offer basic amenities like good roads. The politicians need to be told that our lives don’t come cheap. Enough of innocent blood has been spilled on the roads. It’s time to make every drop of blood count.
Just like coal, double tracking, power lines through forests – bad roads are equally unacceptable. Period.
