Team Herald
PANJIM: Union Minister Shripad Naik has directed the Public Works Department (PWD) and relevant government agencies to act quickly on improvement of the roads in the State.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the reconstituted North Goa District Road Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, Naik conceded that potholes do contribute to accidents.
“A lot needs to be done to make roads safer. All the ministries and departments should emphasize and take responsibilities to reduce the number of accidents,” he said.
“There are many reasons for accidents. I had a discussion with the PWD also. If there are potholes, it invites accidents. Every department should act on it and as we know that rains lead to potholes; it should be repaired immediately. The accidents will reduce. Likewise, drunken driving should also be cracked down because this also causes accidents,” he said replying to a query on the pathetic state of the roads.
Naik said that Goa government has set a target of reducing road accidents by 50% within the next one year “178 people died in road accidents in the last 10 months and 297 died in the year 2019,” he further said.
Illegal hoardings and stray cattle menace was among other issues discussed during the meeting.
