Team Herald

PANJIM: The State roads continue to be death traps as during the first nine months of this year, on an average 20 persons were killed died in accidents every month.

With the vehicular population of Goa surpassing its population, the tiny State has reported about eight accidents per day in last nine months. The Roads Division of the Public Works Department (PWD), Traffic Cell of Goa Police and the Directorate of Transport have a task at hand for preparing the Road Safety Management Plan for Goa within next fortnight.

Among the accidents that were recorded in Goa in the present year, 56 per cent of accidents that have been recorded are due to the error of the driver or the rider. The government has assured of formulating a plan and execution of the same from December 1 this year.

The PWD Roads Division has started working on interim measures in pursuance of the suggestions that were received at the road safety open public forum. Three departments will soon be holding deliberations so as to reduce the road accidents and fatalities on Goan roads.

Cecille Rodrigues, an activist had complained that the signages in the State need to be updated and renovated regularly.

“Police need to be given the power to book PWD or the contractor who has done the work of the road in case of any accident takes place someone needs to be held accountable. The speed breakers on Goan roads too need to be painted” she said.

The PWD (Roads division) chief engineer D C Gupta has informed that the PWD is ideating to have annual maintenance contract (AMC) for the painting of speed breakers and upkeep of roads in the State.

Gupta said, “There is a procedure that the PWD has to follow to tender work and execute it subsequently. We do as much as we can to make sure the process is speeded up. However AMC for signages and speed breakers can be a solution which is in the ideation stage.”