BASURI DESAI
On the busy national highway at the mouth of the approach road to the Mandovi Bridge from Panjim side, huge potholes have surfaced posing great danger to the vehicular movement.
The potholes, which resemble craters, are a grave risk to vehicles, especially to two wheelers, particularly at night time. The vehicle owners are suddenly exposed to these unexpected potholes and tend to lose their balance in the gapping potholes. The risk is higher when it rains as these potholes are filled with water. Two-wheeler riders, often do not know how deep the potholes are and often lose balance and fall off the vehicle. A daily rider along this route said that it is very risky when there is heavy traffic since losing balance and falling down on the road may endanger their lives by coming under a moving vehicle.
A number of accidents have occurred during the night time. Most mishaps involve two wheelers as suddenly the rider is confronted with the unexpected huge craters in front of them. Most of these minor accidents go unreported as mainly they are self accidents causing some damage to the two wheelers or minor injuries to the rider.
Although cosmetic patch work has been carried out filling the gaps on the road with stones, some of these holes are as deep as 20 cms and resurface as the mud is washed out by the rains. Also many of these potholes are not visible due to the bumper to bumper traffic especially during peak hours.
It appears that the potholes have occurred due to the ongoing construction work of the new bridge over river Mandovi, as piling is being done right next to the lane.
The spot is become very dangerous as it is at the entrance of the main circle of the KTC Bus Stand Panjim. All types of vehicles are passing from this circle including heavy vehicles, passenger buses, two-wheelers, etc.
“A daily commuter may avoid any untoward accident at this junction as he is aware of the existing potholes but if a new rider passes from this route than he has to put great efforts to control the bike due to the huge potholes”, said Seby Pereira, a commuter.
Another commuter said that some time the traffic gets congested due to the potholes.
“Authorities should take some cognizance and fill the potholes for the safety of the two-wheeler riders”, said Swapnil Kunkolicar, a commuter.
First of all the road is very narrow, due to the construction of the new bridge and potholes on the available stretch of road is another inconvenience for the travellers, he added.
“We can understand that for some time we have to face this hardship of traffic congestion due to the bridge work but potholes on the available stretch of road should have been filled to avoid the congestion and smooth traffic”, said Naresh Salgaonkar, a commuter.
