With monsoon at the door step, incomplete service roads, accident prone zones and the traffic chaos at the two underpasses in the Bardez section of the NH66 is expected to add to the woes of the motorists and commuters.
While a long a stretch of the service road on both sides of the NH66 has not been completed in Colvale, at several places the service roads have developed large potholes which can turn nightmarish to motorists during a heavy downpour.
At several places the service roads are very narrow while at some areas no embankments have been constructed to the service roads, particularly in Peddem, which could put lives of unsuspecting motorists into grave danger.
“One stretch of the service road near the Colvale jail is in a very bad state. Last year, during the monsoon, we did a series of videos exposing about the poor state of the road which has huge potholes and the problems faced by the motorists. Monsoon may arrive anytime but the road has still not been fixed,” said Shekar Naik, an activist and a resident of Mapusa.
He said the condition of the service roads were quite bad at several other areas and need to be fixed before the onset of monsoon so that motorists are not inconvenienced.
If the condition of the service roads is bad, commuting on the broadened NH66 is also not smooth.
Several stretches of the highway are still not illuminated and signages directing vehicular movement are either missing or not properly fixed.
At least three areas along the national highway are highly accident prone and could cost lives of commuters and motorists alike.
The Peddem junction, the area near the Karrasvaddo petrol pump where industrial workers cross the NH to go to the factories, and the junction near Binani, Colvale are very dangerous and could put lives at risk.
Of the three, the Peddem junction has turned out to be the biggest accident prone zone as several vehicles and commuters criss-cross the junction.
People moving to the Peddem sports complex and those who want to go to the North Goa District Hospital have no option but use the crucial busy junction.
Several accidents are reported at the spot.“Almost every second day we witness an accident in the area. The traffic police have stationed a cop at the spot but one person cannot handle the huge traffic moving at the junction,” said Joe Luis, a resident from the area.
As a stop gap arrangement, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) planned to fix traffic signals at the junction but so far nothing has been done.
Two weeks back, Mapusa MLA, Joshua D’Souza and Aldona MLA, Carlos Ferreira along with PWD and NHAI officials held an inspection of the accident prone junction and spoke about plans to ease the traffic at the junction.
The chaos at the two underpasses – Guirim and Bastora – has also leads to traffic snarls and minor mishaps causing a lot of stress to commuters and motorists.
Assistant Engineer, Dinesh Tare informed that the NHAI was seized of the Peddem junction matter and very soon the authority will take up some decision on it.
“Erecting a traffic signal was a suggestion but may not be practical at the crucial junction. Even today we had a meeting with senior officials on what steps to be taken at the site. We are working on a plan and will soon come out with a solution,” Tare said.
He also assured that the service roads will be patched up before the arrival of monsoons.
(This news is reported by The Goan. To read more GOA news visit The Goan)
