CANACONA
Two mishaps at the Karmalghat in Canacona led to a traffic jam along the NH66 highway on Tuesday.
The first mishap took place when a truck (GJ-12-BV-8370) was carrying large pipes from Karwar and proceeding towards Margao.
The truck fell on its side at about 5 am and blocked the highway at Karmalghat. While no one was injured in the mishap, traffic was disrupted for about 4 hours till the Canacona police pressed a crane into service to clear the fallen truck from the road.
The truck was moved to one side of the road, enabling traffic to pass on either side of the road.
Stranded motorists blamed authorities for the inordinate delay as neither the Canacona Police nor the Cuncolim Police, which have jurisdiction on either side of the Karmalghat, had a crane. As a result, the police had to depend on heavy machinery from Margao and elsewhere.
Later in the day, a pickup (KA-30-A-5446) also fell on its side in the Gulem section of the NH66 road. A crane was again pressed into service to clear the vehicle from the road, causing another traffic congestion along the highway for about 30 minutes.
