MARGAO: As many as 113 road accidents – 12 of them fatal – reported within the jurisdiction of the Cuncolim police station in a span of just 10 months has brought to the fore the risks motorists face amid heavy traffic along the Margao-Cuncolim road.
Many citizens have attributed these accidents to improper road infrastructure and lack of sufficient lanes, and have called for the government to conduct a thorough road audit. Concerns have been particularly heightened after the recent accident involving a Balrath at Balli that injured 22 of the 27 students travelling in the bus.
Residents of the Salcete taluka are no strangers to horrific road accidents, but the increasing incidence of such cases has perturbed them. For instance, sometime this year, a collision between a goods truck and a passenger bus left four persons, including a driver, critical.
Then there was the case of a passenger bus turning turtle near the Cuncolim industrial estate, along the Cuncolim-Canacona highway, injuring two people. In yet another case, a fish-laden truck landed into a rivulet at the accident prone Uskinibandh, Cuncolim, during nightfall. Fortunately, the truck driver escaped with minor bruises and the company transporting the fish from Kerala to Maharashtra retrieved the truck from the rivulet.
An accident between a passenger bus and a goods truck travelling in opposite directions on this very stretch resulted in 15 people sustaining injuries. The passenger bus was traveling to Canacona while the goods truck was travelling towards Cuncolim when the accident occurred.
Cuncolim resident Simon Fernandes, said that some roads lying in the jurisdiction of the local police station are indeed narrow and need attention before more mishaps or serious accidents occur. “Due to the improper infrastructure, accidents are on the rise along the Margao-Cuncolim highway and further ahead at Balli,” he said.
