PERNEM: First they lost their land for the Mopa International Airport and later for the link road. Now, each passing day, the residents of Nagzar-Warkhand live in fear, as the speeding vehicles moving on the Dhargalim-Nagzar road leading to the airport along NH 66 continue to claim the lives of their near and dear ones.
The government’s assurance on providing jobs, business opportunities and other benefits to the locals once the airport projects commences, has not materialised.
The Manohar International Airport has commenced operations and the work on the link road has been going on for over a year. The speeding trucks plying on the link road leading to the airport from Dhargalim-Nagzar has resulted in several accidents including fatal ones which claimed the lives of three people including a youth.
It is pertinent to note that the government has failed to provide financial assistance to the injured and to the victims’ families and to prevent such fatal accidents in the future; hundreds of residents hit the road.
O Heraldoteam met the locals of Nagzar-Warkhand, who claimed that the airport had come as a curse for them.
The residents said that they feel unsafe as the heavy vehicles plying on the Dhargalim-Nagzar road drive in rash and negligent manner.
They said that despite several accidents, the drivers of the heavy vehicles continue to ply in a rash and negligent manner even on the internal roads outside the airport.
Kavita Kishor Kambli, a local said, “The locals are inconvenienced due to the ongoing work of the link road. The residents commuting along this road have sustained serious injuries in the accidents, while three persons lost their lives but the authorities concerned have failed to initiate action against the culprits. The authorities are yet to provide any financial assistance to the injured and to the victims’ families. After the airport commenced its operations and the link road work, which is currently underway, the number of accidents has increased. In the absence of speed breakers at the site, the vehicles move speedily. There are schools in the area, so students face difficulty in crossing the road and to add to the residents’ woes, there are no footpaths.”
“Almost each day, accidents are reported on the Dhargalim-Nagzar road. It’s a nightmare for motorists, who commute on this road, as truck and taxi drivers drive their vehicles in a rash and negligent manner. The government says that this project is a blessing for Pednekars, but for us it is a curse. First the government bought the land for the project by paying us peanuts and now the people are losing their lives. People are forced to suffer as authorities concerned are not paying attention to the rash and negligent movement of vehicles and whenever accidents occur, people suffer as they receive no financial help”, another local complained.
The locals claimed that there is movement of heavy vehicles round-the-clock but there is hardly any staff from the Traffic Cell to man the traffic on the road.
