SANTOSH NAIK
.The residents of Daag, Ponda, are a harrowed lot. Their area’s main road, which was almost entirely dug up in 2016 to lay a sewerage network, remains in the same decrepit condition today, six years on. Astonishingly, work on the project, which was expected to be completed in 2018, is far from over.
It’s not just the locals of Daag who are suffering. The consequences of the government’s lackadaisical attitude in remedying what is a serious safety concern has also affected Ponda town and the villages of Kavlem, Bandora, Talaulim and Durbhat, whose residents use this road regularly.
The busy Ponda market road, too, is in a similar condition.
While parts of the affected roads have been restored, locals point to the shoddy repair work that is actually doing more harm than good. Sludgy concrete roughly slapped onto the gaping chambers of the sewerage line to level them with the rest of the road takes motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, by surprise. The situation worsens when rainwater fills the gaps around these chambers, making them hard to spot. The bumpy roads have also resulted in many commuters developing acute back and body pain.
Irked senior citizens along with other Ponda locals recently protested at the Kapileshwari underpass against the dilapidated roads and the resultant health problems these have caused them.
They demanded that PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral inspect the affected stretches and direct that they be tarred immediately.
The authorities, in the meanwhile, prefer to hide behind red tape. Officials of the PWD’s Roads Division XVIII say they are unable to repair road stretches that haven’t received a certificate of completion of sewerage work.
“We can’t start hot-mixing roads if the contractor concerned does not furnish such a certificate. However, stretches for which certificates have been received will be carpeted in November or December as it is still raining presently,” a PWD official said.
The response of PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral was on similar lines. “Sewerage work is pending at some places and the rain has also posed a hurdle for workers. I will certainly visit Ponda soon to inspect the sewerage work and find an effective solution to restoring the roads at the earliest,” he said.
Interestingly, Agriculture Minister and local MLA Ravi Naik laid the blame on the consultant for delaying the completion of the sewage treatment plant at Kapileshwari, on the outskirts of Ponda town.
“The consultant failed to conduct a proper study of the topography before drilling the ground to lay the sewerage lines,” he claimed.
