MARGAO: Residents along Abade Faria Road in Margao have once again voiced their concerns to the authorities. Lasat year, they raised issues about the height disparity between their lower-level houses and the recently tarred road, which posed challenges for access. Despite previous complaints requesting the PWD to adjust the road height to match the footpaths, the recent increase in road height has exacerbated their difficulties. Some residents have resorted to building new platforms or steps to facilitate entry into their homes, while others struggle to navigate the elevated road, especially elderly citizens. In response, they have written to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds the PWD portfolio, seeking relief. Copies of their letters have also been sent to Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai.
In the letter, the concerns of the residents of Abade Faria Road and the area around the Civil Court, as well as of the users of the Old Market shops, were listed out.
“The road height has been going up systematically each time it is re-tarred. My neighbours and I are facing severe difficulties in accessing our homes and the shops in Old Market. One house further, south of the houses badly hit, had its garden raised because of the difficulty in accessing it with any vehicle,” said a senior citizen in the letter.
She also gave examples of water drain issues during the monsoon in the area behind the civil court, due to the height of the road and a problematic drain.
The citizens further raised concerns about the risk posed to commuters, especially at the corners of these roads, which are also lined with illegally parked vehicles during the day.
Referring to global standards, the senior citizen pointed out that pavements should be at the street level to allow easy access for the physically impaired.
“I cannot even start to imagine how, for example, a blind person would access his/her home in these dire circumstances,” she added.
Calls were made for urgent rectification of this issue.
The residents also appealed to the CM to personally visit the area along with an elderly person to better understand the issue.
It may be recalled that last year too, in their letter to the authorities, the residents complained that by raising the height of the road, the entrances to their houses were at a lower level, which they said was dangerous for people entering the houses.
“The road is tarred without first removing the existing layer. The result is visible to anyone. In some houses, the elevation is so high that it’s extremely dangerous to get in and out. The elderly are stuck indoors. The next time the PWD tars the road, it is imperative that the many layers are removed first before adding any new layer of tar, so that the road is slightly lower than the pavement,” the residents had stated in their earlier letters.
