PONDA: The massive fire at RK Scrapyard in Dhavlim on Friday afternoon caused plumes of smoke to flow onto the adjacent highway. As a result, traffic on the National Highway heading towards Margao-Ponda had to be diverted through the Bethora-Borim Bypass. The NH remained blocked for almost 30 hours, causing significant traffic chaos and inconvenience to commuters.
“After 4 pm, the traffic police opened the NH for bikes, but till late evening, it was shut for cars and heavy vehicles due to work in progress to douse the fire,” said a police official. Despite the efforts of the fire personnel, the blaze at the scrapyard continues to rage, leading to the NH road at Dhavlim-Farmagudi on the Panjim-Ponda-Margao route being shut down for traffic to ensure the smooth operation of fire-fighting efforts.
“Several tankers were used to bring the fire under control, but it still continues to burn,” said a fire official. Locals expressed outrage at the government for allowing scrapyards to operate on highways without leaving any access for water tankers to extinguish fires. “The compound walls are too high, making it difficult to aim the water on the fire,” said a resident.
Commuters, including tourists, faced a lot of hardship as traffic was diverted through Bethora road, and many were forced to travel an additional eight to ten kilometres on this route.
“The government should have planned better for such emergencies. It is not fair that we were taken hostage for no fault of ours,” said an angry commuter.
