Describing the journey on Bethora main road as a ‘headache’, with many falling from bikes and sustaining injuries, residents from the Bethora-Nirankal-Conshem-Codar Panchayat, have challenged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, PWD Minister Digambar Kamat and local MLA and Minister Subhash Shirodkar to ride over crater ridden road and personally experience the difficulties faced by villagers, school students, and industrial employees by understanding their plight.
Residents from the Bethora-Nirankal-Conshem-Codar Panchayat in Ponda have demanded that the State authorities repair the deteriorated one-km stretch of road connecting the main Kannewal junction to the industrial estate on priority as they claimed that the crater-ridden surface has caused hardship to commuters and has resulted in numerous accidents in the past two years,. “Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, PWD Minister Digambar Kamat and local MLA and Minister Subhash Shirodkar should personally experience the difficulties faced by villagers, school students, and industrial employees by riding over crater ridden road to understand the plight of the commuters,” said Dharmanand Chari, a local.
Nyaneshwar Khandeparkar, another local resident, revealed that an RTI (Right to Information) reply indicated a tender for hotmix carpeting of this road was floated in March 2025, with a completion deadline of September 8, 2025. However, the road remains un-hotmixed.
Khandeparkar and other residents have demanded that the Chief Minister conduct an inquiry into the matter and blacklist the contractor if found responsible for the delays or substandard work. The Bethora main road's worsening condition is particularly concerning for school children who navigate the hazardous potholes and craters.
During monsoon, the potholes and craters are filled with muddy water, making travel even more dangerous, leading to accidents and injuries to riders and pillion riders. The lack of a proper drainage system, has caused the rainwater to overflow. According to residents, PWD has used a “jetpatcher machine” eight times.