A 19-year-old youth lost his life in the accident and the cattle squatting on the road were also killed.
On the eve of Diwali when the country was preparing to celebrate the festival of lights, 57-year-old Remedia Mary Albuquerque who was on the phone at the reception counter of her Vagator resort was hit by 42-year-old Sachin Venu Gopal Kurup, who was driving a Haryana registered SUV. While videos immediately after the accident showed the accused in an inebriated state, shockingly the blood samples have shown no alcohol. However, the accused could have been high on drugs, not alcohol.
These are just a fraction of the accidents that have occurred during the last fortnight in Goa. These accidents caught the attention of the media as they involved fatalities. However, the hundreds of minor accidents that have occurred during this period have neither been reported in the media nor the police have records. Majority of non-fatal cases are only reported when the FIR copies are required for claiming insurance for the damages.
In most of the accidents, where occupants escape with minor injuries or without any injuries, the parties involved in the accident reach a compromise and settle the matter. Then there are self-accidents, which in case do not cause damage to someone’s property or have no implications on the car owner, are not even reported.
These accidents provoke the question that despite the claims of the Police Department, the number of accidents, fatal as well as non-fatal, continues to spike, even as the State is yet to approach the peak of the tourism season.
Goa organised the National Games recently and the Director General of Police (DGP) commended the police personnel for their job. However, the public response to the work by the police during the National Games is not so heartening. A huge chunk of the population in Goa is fed up with the VVIP culture. The policing had been criticised by the public for having literally shut down the road as well as the business establishments along NH 566 and NH 66 from Dabolim Airport to Margao, for six hours from 3–9 pm, on the day of inauguration of National Games. While the government servants received a half-day off, the private sector and the daily wage workers lost a whole day’s pay.
Two-lanes on the Southern Side of the NH 566 from MES College junction to Birla Cross junction were shut down for vehicular traffic during the last four days of National Games for the cycle race. The traffic was diverted via Cortalim, causing a lot of inconvenience.
The situation of traffic management hasn’t improved at major junctions across the State, raising questions about the training of the police personnel. At times one wonders whether they are only trained to issue challans. Whenever there is a major fatal road accident reported, it is as if the police are compelled to release data on the number of challans issued and the statistics which make for a feel-good factor.
However, the police department has to answer the people of the State as to what stops them from carrying out regular checks during the night hours at the entry and exit points of the towns and villages, and especially the famous beaches within their jurisdiction. Why are spot tests for drunken driving and drug intake missing from the roads of Goa? What steps has the government taken to put an end to the increasing number of accidents involving rent-a-bikes and rent-a-cabs?
If the AI enabled traffic signals, which have attached CCTVs to capture various traffic violations are a success story then what stops the government from spending the money on the technology and improving the traffic management system.
Bragging about statistical successes will not improve the ground reality, the police will have to be seen on the ground to ensure public safety and robust traffic management.
