The National Highway 17 B road connecting Verna to Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) is the first four-lane highway road in the state of Goa. This stretch of road which was converted from state highway to national highway and was completed from Verna to Varunapuri (13 km distance) is considered as the model highway road in Goa that was constructed one and half decades ago by the Border Road Organisation (BRO).
Ironically the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) officials confirmed to Herald that this NH17 B lacks proper engineering geometry.
“Before converting this state highway into National highway several crucial aspects were not adopted and this highway today, which was considered to be a boon to the state, has suddenly become a death trap for motorists, with innocents losing their lives at regular intervals, said NHAI officials.
Herald’s on-the-ground reportage revealed there are various issues pertaining to this NH17 B due to which accidents have been taking place. Firstly the BRO authorities failed to adopt proper engineering geometry while constructing this highway and hence various important junctions on this 13-km road could not be planned properly and done haphazardly. Certain junctions, including the road junction near Hotel Queeny at Upasnagar, near Zuari Indian Oil tanking Limited (ZIOL), near MES College, at Dabolim and at Shantinagar in Vasco are deadlier than any other road junctions in Goa.
“Yes it is very true that our NH17 B lacks proper engineering geometry due to which road users have been facing issues while commuting on NH17 B road. However, as corrective measures now we have been making different proposals to make this road user friendly,” confessed NHAI Project director P S Doddamani.
It’s not only the issues of deadly junctions but several other issues like lack of proper road signages, signals at important junctions, several internal roads abruptly connected to highway and most importantly water logging on the road during monsoons are some of the major issues that haunt the road users.
“The water logging issue on this road during monsoon is very serious. Many a time to avoid passing through the waterlogged area, motorists suddenly change their lane leading to accidents near NSD gate and at deadly Vales Junction in Dabolim, but no one is ready to pay any heed and motorists are left to face undue hardships and danger. Recently the NHAI authorities promised that they will close down certain illegal openings but the promise is yet to be fulfilled,” lamented Hasan Khan, a Vasco-based social worker
“There is no surface drain as the outlet is abruptly stopped and water logging occurs. I have prepared estimates for constructing proper drainages at all stretches on NH17 B road especially near NSD,” Doddamani said.
What remains to be seen is the fact that this road is the first highway road in Goa, but still it isn’t user friendly. Whether the authorities concerned will take note of the fact that NH17 B is one of the important access roads for the people of Mormugao Taluka and whether they would seriously take up or address these issues which have literally converted this road into a death trap only time will tell, but citizens seriously hope for some changes on this road.
