Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho’s statements on Wednesday slamming the government department for not turning up for crucial meetings called to address issues of road safety and not showing the commitment that is needed to address road safety exposes the carelessness and numbness that has set into the system at a time when the State is grappling with the increasing number of deaths on roads.
Godinho’s comments are significant against the backdrop of a grim situation and the failure of a host of measures that have been tried and tested. With the government taking a new initiative in tackling the rising graph of road accidents, one expects the entire machinery to chug along and support the cause that is in the larger interest of the State.
The recently announced budget proposals by the Chief Minister mentioned that the government plans to start safety and structural audits of roads, systems for prompt filling of potholes and annual maintenance contracts for road safety equipment. Sawant has earmarked Rs 50 crore for road improvement and safety, all this with the hope that the accident rate will be brought down during 2024-25.
One of Goa’s biggest dilemmas has been tackling road accidents through the years. Enough has been debated on this issue -- from better and wider roads to forming teams to get to the root of the problem, covering potholes and black spots and better policing, but all these measures appear to have failed and the upward trajectory of the accident rate continued.
The years 2022 and 2023 were perhaps horrible with Goa recording in all 3,011 and 2,832 accidents respectively. On average five people died every week due to accidents in 2023. The year 2024 began on a horrible note with four accident deaths reported on Day One. Incidentally, a day after CM announced measures to curb accidents, at the Assembly session, two women died of road accidents. A 68-year-old Portuguese national was crushed under the wheels of a private bus after a truck hit her scooter while in the second accident, a lady came under the wheels of the bus at the Panaji bus stand.
Although the government’s recent initiatives must be appreciated, the resolve and intent are not showing on the ground and department heads not doing justice to their roles is one such indicator. There is a lot of work to do ” from undertaking those structural audits promised in the budget, and rectifying road engineering flaws to clearing ‘black spots’.
The slow pace at which the PWD is moving in tackling black spots is another indication that there is no urgency in addressing road fatalities. Lest we forget, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, during his visit to Goa to inaugurate the second arm of the cable-stayed Zuari bridge in December 2023 promised Goa Rs 100 crore to clear black spots and said the State must bring down the accident rate drastically.
Godinho’s anger over heads of departments skipping crucial meetings is justifiable and it reflects that his department is seized with the matter. The government must carry on this intensity, punish erring officers and ensure that all arms work seamlessly towards making Goa's roads safer. It's time to get cracking.
