Goan roads give a good shake from head to foot for vehicle users due to cracks and potholes on national highways, state highways and village roads, which have become death traps. Any work badly done ends up with bad results.
People pay direct and indirect taxes, and also road tax at the time of purchase of vehicle. Therefore, the government is responsible to make sure that the roads are safe and smooth for traffic. But when bad roads cause accidents in abundance, the government promises to reduce road accidents with fines for drivers and riders involved in accidents; and Goan policemen ‘attempt’ to cut down the ‘smash up’ statistics with ‘challans’ for helmetless two-wheelers; and beltless four-wheeler drivers.
The government had promised that all the potholes would be filled before Ganesh Chaturthi but they have remained till date, perhaps some are turning wider. It is said, “You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.” Therefore, who will depend on the promises of politicians?
Some say that the roads are spoilt because of the laying down of utilities – digging of roads by BSNL, Electricity Department and Water Supply Department – without any coordination among themselves. But many minds have doubts that the actual causes of disasters are due to inferior quality roads and lack of accountability.
If accidents, major or minor, are actually caused due to cracks and ‘craters’ which make driving difficult, then two, three or four-wheelers should not be fined because such hazardous road conditions are created by the contractors who have plotted slapdash roads to fill up their own pockets and perhaps, with or without, some kickbacks involved. Certainly, vehicles would not have met with accidents if there were no such risky road situations. Therefore, it is not good to fine the innocent driver but punish the culprit contractors. But, if death is caused by consumption of alcohol, rash and negligent driving with supersonic speed, defying the law of gravity, by floating in air, or zooming at road crossings, as the light turns green, then such guilty ones should be punished and removed from the society so that, they cannot prey on innocent locals and tourists again.
A few say that, behind every action there is an intention of contractors for excessive profit making. Therefore, the contractors should be fined for poor quality roads, with cost for damage done to the human body and the vehicle. But if the contractors escape with minor penalties of repairing the road with further inferior quality which cannot last the annual monsoon, in that case, there seems to be no accountability at all, according to the locals.
Falsehood is easily discovered. Contractors have to pay for low-grade work. Then only it would save thousands of innocent lives and crores of rupees (thousands and crores did I say? I think, thousands on thousands of crores over crores of rupees) in terms of damage to vehicles and individual health. But who will make the authorities accept such ‘wisdom’ of the locals? Who will give people quick justice based on such thinking? Natural justice requires proper inquiry by legitimate authorities.
