Furious over the government’s failure to curb the menace of over-speeding and overloaded mining and coal trucks, members of the Canacona Congress frontal committees on Saturday staged an agitation at Polem Check Post, paralysing traffic.
The protest, led by Janardhan Bhandari, began at 11:30 am and sought to draw attention to the grave danger posed by heavy vehicles using the narrow Margao–Cuncolim–Canacona road. Locals have long complained that such trucks, often overloaded and driven recklessly, endanger lives and property.
The agitation came after the committees submitted a memorandum on August 12 to various departments, demanding an immediate ban on overloaded and speeding mining trucks on the Margao–Canacona National Highway. Protesters accused the authorities of ignoring their repeated appeals, even with Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner.
As the blockade brought traffic to a halt, the Canacona Police Inspector and the Mamlatdar rushed to the site to pacify the crowd. After discussions with Bhandari and other leaders, officials assured the agitators that the issue would be dealt with on priority and urged them to call off the protest.
Following the assurances, the agitation was withdrawn. A follow-up meeting was later held in the Deputy Collector’s chamber with government officials to chalk out immediate measures for regulating truck movement.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Bhandari slammed the government’s “careless attitude” towards Canacona residents’ safety. “People’s lives are at risk every single day because of these overloaded, over-speeding trucks. If authorities fail to act even now, we will be forced to intensify our agitation,” he warned.
Residents said they now expect the latest assurances to translate into concrete measures, including strict checks on overloading and speed regulation, to prevent accidents and ensure safety on the busy highway.