Three persons lost their lives in the recent past on the road from IOC tanks to the vegetable market in Vasco. The reason: overgrown bushes on the road dividers that block the view of motorists and pedestrians.
In one accident, an elderly man was killed on the spot when he was knocked down by a heavy vehicle near the vegetable market, while a van killed a pedestrian near the police junction. About three months ago, another man was killed near the Vasco Masjid.
An inquiry made by Herald on Tuesday to the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) about the overgrown bushes on the road dividers that were posing a problem to motorists saw the bushes trimmed Wednesday morning.
The bushes along the road dividers from IOC junction to the Vasco vegetable market had grown to such an extent that motorists could barely see oncoming vehicles at the busy road junction.
While the police had admitted that this was a serious danger to motorists, the MMC took note of the problem only on Tuesday, after Herald sought a comment in the matter.
Siddhant Parab, a two-wheeler rider, said, “Due to the overgrown bushes, it has become dangerous to cross the road near the police station. The traffic police had organised the Road Safety Week a few days ago, but they failed to alert the MMC about overgrown bushes along the road dividers, which incidentally are only a few metres from the Vasco Traffic Police Station.”
Four-wheeler driver, Bosco Fernandes, said while the traffic police were quick to fine motorists riding without helmets, they had failed to recognize the dangers of overgrown bushes along the busy road.
Some policemen from the Vasco Traffic Cell and police station, who travel on two-wheelers, admitted to the risks involved while riding on this road.
“It is very risky to cross the road as one cannot spot oncoming vehicles due to these overgrown bushes,” a policeman said, seeking anonymity.
When asked whether Vasco Traffic Cell had written to the MMC to trim the overgrown bushes, the policeman said, “There is no need to write a letter to the MMC, as the Traffic Police head can just call up the MMC chief officer and request him to trim the bushes. Whenever we want to trim the plants at the police station, the Traffic Cell calls up the MMC gardener and he immediately attends to the plants.”
Vasco Traffic Cell PI Sudesh Narvekar was not available on Tuesday but the policeman said he would bring it to the notice of Narvekar.
When contacted, MMC Chief Officer J Bhingui on Tuesday admitted that the situation needed to be tackled urgently and immediately summoned the maintenance officer and directed the person in-charge to depute the gardener to trim the overgrown bushes.
“The overgrown bushes along the road dividers from IOC junction to the Vasco vegetable market will be trimmed to avoid any mishap in the area,” Bhingui assured.
Acting swiftly in the matter, the overgrown bushes were trimmed on Wednesday morning.
