PONDA: Expressing concerns over the increasing number of accidents, including fatal ones, on the long stretch of the National Highway passing through Ponda and Dharbandora talukas, the locals have urged the authorities to adopt safety measures to prevent accidents until the Public Works Department (PWD) completes the entire NH expansion work in both talukas.
They have specifically requested the installation of sufficient numbers of ‘Go Slow’, ‘Stray Cattle Herd Zones’ and ‘Narrow Road’ cautionary signboards to alert commuters, especially on narrow sections of the highway.
The residents claimed that these accidents are primarily caused by head-on collisions and due to the presence of cattle on the roads.
According to the locals, approximately 50 km of the highway passing through their talukas towards Belgaum is narrow, except for a few kilometres where four-lane widening has been completed. The NH stretch from Banastarim to Mollem has varying widths, with some widened or four-lane sections and many narrow stretches.
For example, the seven-km stretch from Ponda to Khandepar is four-lane, but it turns narrow from Usgao until Dharbandora.
They claimed that the narrow road at Par Usgao has witnessed two recent fatal accidents. Another accident involving a car and a jeep left seven persons injured, with the car driver sustaining serious injuries.
They further said that the stretches from Khandepar to Usgao and from Dharbandora to Mollem are accident-prone zones due to the presence involving cattle as several fatalities have also been reported.
They said that due to the presence of cattle the Dhavalim stretch on the Farmagudi-Borim road has turned into an accident-prone zone.
Recently, four cattle died in accidents along the Dhavalim stretch and even a local died on the route.
Sandeep Parkar, a local resident, emphasised that the varying widths of the NH, with some sections widened and others left narrow, contribute to accidents.
He stressed the importance of installing appropriate signages, such as ‘Go Slow’, ‘Cattle Movement’ and ‘Narrow Road’ signboards, until the entire NH expansion project is completed.
Usgao sarpanch Ramnath Dangui said considering accidents due to narrow road width at Usgao, he will write to PWD to adopt safety measures and install signboards to alert commuters.
