Team Herald
PONDA: The Kundaim bus stop at Manaswada Junction on Ponda –Panjim national highway has virtually turned into an accident-prone zone. In the recent years, several accidents have been reported at the site including fatal ones.
There have been many cases wherein the buses, which halt at the bus stop to pick up passengers, get hit from behind by other heavy vehicles, which result in injuries caused to the passengers of the buses.
Locals have blamed the faulty design of the bus stop and point out that it is because the bus stop is situated on a descending slope at Manawada-Kundaim. Further, although the road is for one-way movement, drivers of these passenger buses often ply along the route on both
They point out that buses moving to Panjim and buses moving to Ponda halt at this stop, but in opposite directions. In such a situation, the heavy vehicles coming down the slope find it difficult to negotiate their vehicles due to the lack of space and often lose control while trying to make way. They end up colliding with the buses ahead of them. Bus owners have also complained about the damage caused to their buses due to these regular accidents.
It may be recalled that there was a similar type of accident recently, where a truck, lost control and hit a parked bus and also hit a pedestrian who was standing near the bus stop. The impact was so severe that the pedestrian succumbed to injuries.
“There are many accidents taking place frequently. There have already been fatal accidents and before there is any major disaster here, the government should look into the problem. Besides buses and their passengers, pedestrians and shops in the area are also at risk,” said a local resident.
It is to be noted that shops have also suffered damage during such accidents where heavy vehicles proceeding towards Panjim have crashed into them in such scenarios.
According to Sarpanch Damodar Naik, the road construction design is faulty. The National Highway authorities should look into the matter urgently to reduce the increasing number of accidents in the interest of the safety of the passengers and locals of Kundaim,” he added.
