QUEPEM: Riddled with potholes that have created a slushy mess after the rains, Quepem’s Balli road has become a safety hazard for motorists. While the busy stretches in front of the new municipal building and outside Don Bosco High School have become accident-prone due to the rainwater-filled potholes, locals have slammed the Quepem Municipal Council and Public Works Department for their failure to address the issue.
What’s even worse is that the PWD was not even aware of the state of the road, and Herald found that a lone Assistant Engineer (AE) holds ‘double charge’ of both Sanguem and Quepem areas, due to the retirement of the AE for Quepem.
A resident of Quepem Vallabh Prabhu Desai said that the potholes were getting deeper.
“It is very strange that none of the authorities from the government offices located in the close vicinity of the potholed stretch — the Quepem Mamlatdar, Deputy Collector, Municipality, and RTO have not acted to get the busy Balli road fixed,” said Prabhu Desai.
Another local, Leo Rebelo said that the road is busy as it is close to the market, and is also used by parents, who take their children to school in the mornings, and are at risk of getting into a road accident because of the potholes.
Assistant Engineer (AE) of PWD, Sanguem Bento Mascarenhas said that he has been given double charge of Quepem as well, after the retirement of the previous AE.
“First, I will inspect the situation of the road, because I’m unaware of the potholes problem of Balli road. I will sort out the issue as soon as possible,” Mascarenhas said.
