CANACONA: The death of young woman in a road mishap in Bhatpal has outraged residents in the village and a memorandum has been submitted to the deputy collector demanding speed breakers at the site to regulate rash motorists.
While the bereaved family of late Prisca Fernandes (24) has announced the funeral on Saturday evening, the truck driver, Pratap Govi (23) of Sirsi–Karnataka, who was involved in the fatal road mishap, was arrested after he surrendered to the police on Friday night.
In the memorandum expressing shock over the untimely death of Prisca, an employee at a beauty parlour in Margao, several Canacona residents claimed that ‘Lives were being snuffed out like mosquitoes” and cited many instances of people killed in road mishaps.
“This is a wake-up call to the authorities and the residents. This is not one incident, as Menino Barretto and Rocky Barretto lost their lives because of an overloaded and speeding truck at Karmlaghat. Ulhas Painguinkar, a news paper agent, was not even on the highway when a truck rammed into him in his shop at Poinguinim bazaar. People are being killed for no fault of theirs,” stated the memorandum, a copy of which was later also submitted to Canacona police.
The villagers have also expressed anger at delayed arrival of EMRI services at the accident site on Thursday.
A delegation of villagers met Deputy Collector Sudhin Natu at his office on Thursday evening and requested him to act as quickly as possible to address the public safety on roads.
Prisca and her elder sister, Alba, had been brought up by their single mother, after their father had drowned. Her mother, Joanita, had gone to the Gulf to make ends meet, but her daughters had requested her to return home and assured to look after her.
He family said the funeral is scheduled to take place on Saturday at 3 pm in the St Francis Xavier Church at Bhatpal, after the family took possession of the body and brought it to their home on Friday.
