PANJIM: The year 2024 has started with an increased rate of road accidents claiming nine lives within a period of three days. This is about a 400 per cent increase in the fatal accident rate if it is compared with the rate of accidents that occurred during the same period last year.
An analysis of the data available with O Heraldo indicated that nearly one (0.68) life was lost every day in the month of January last year. According to the data, as many as 230 persons lost their lives from January to November last year, indicating that on an average 20 lives were lost every day.
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The highest 38 lives were lost in the month of January 2023 while the lowest 11 lives were lost in the month of August. This means that in the month of January last year, on an average every day at least one life was lost.
In the month of February 25 lives were lost, in March 28 lives, in April 25, in May 18, in June 17, in July 21, September 14, October 15 and November 18.
The year 2024 began with the news of death of Ayush Halankar, a 22-year-old son of former councillor of the CCP, in an accident that occurred around 3.46 am near people’s high school.
Another fatal accident took place at Opa Junction, Khandepar, Ponda, in which 55-year-old Suresh Naik, a resident of Ponda, lost his life.
Reacting to the grave situation of rising cases of accidents in the State, Goa Road Safety Forum (GRSF) founder Dilip Naik said, “Neither central government nor the State government has got the road map. It has to be made a priority. Already the United Nations has declared 2020-2030 as road safety decade wherein they want to reduce the road accidents by 50 per cent.”
“India is also signatory to that. But the Indian government has not taken it seriously. We followed it up so much with the CM. I have held at least five meetings with the CM. Goa
being a small State with full administration it should declare its Goal and strategy. We will set examples before the rest of the country. We should have road accidents. We have told the CM to make the driving licence rule strict. Not the way people are getting the licences now. The driving schools have become agents,” he said.
Prashant Naik, Chairman of MARG (Movement for Amity towards Roads in Goa), said, “The vehicular population in the country has increased but barring the national highways, the condition of rest of the roads in the state is poor. I do agree that there is reckless driving. It is
also true that in Panjim, there is recklessness from the government.”
“The roads are dug but there are no signages or reflectors. In fact the government has to be sued in these cases. The road engineering is so bad that accidents are bound to happen. For example at Farmagudi every year five or six accidents take place and one or two of them are fatal. This is the total failure of road engineering,” Naik said.
All Goa Private Bus Owners Association general secretary Sudip Tamhankar said, “Main reason is the licences are being sold. One can get a licence by paying a certain amount of money. There is connivance with all. Second reason is that the roads being constructed in the State are of poor class. Moreover the roads are dug and later left without carrying out proper repair work. We do not know which roads are to be dug next time.”
