the goan I network
VASCO
A trip to her morning Mass ended in tragedy for a 70-year-old woman, when she was fatally knocked down by a truck at Cortalim on Thursday.
The incident outraged residents in the village and a group of locals and Cortalim panchayat members agitated on the road.
According to sources, Luisa Pereira of Nauta Cortalim had left from the church after the morning Mass on her scooter (GA-08-S-7427) and when she reached near the Swaad restaurant at Santrant on the internal road leading to Thana, she was knocked down by an oncoming truck (GA-05-T-1114).
She sustained grievous injuries and was shifted to the GMC hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.
Verna police rushed to the site and detained the accused truck driver, Rajasab Nadaf (31), a native of Sindhudurg but residing at Dharbandora, for further investigation. Police later booked Nadaf for rash and negligent driving under Section 279, 304A of IPC, while Verna PSI Kiran Naik was investigating the case.
The incident sparked off angry reactions in the village, with a group of locals and Cortalim panchayat members agitating on the road and alleging that the truck involved in the mishap had been engaged with work on the New Zuari bridge.
Sarpanch Angela Furtado, Dy Sarpanch Raymond De Sa, ward panch Anton Fernandes and a group of locals went to the accident spot to protest. They have decided to block entry of heavy vehicles moving along internal roads in the village.
Speaking to reporters, Cortalim Deputy Sarpanch Raymond De Sa said trucks were using internal roads as a shortcut, even though an alternative route was available to them.
“We had met Traffic PI Suraj Samant with a request to put a no-entry board on this road, but he said he had not received the notification. Though a letter made by the Traffic Superintendent to publish this notification was done way back in 2003, no one is aware if the notification is published.”
“If heavy traffic was not allowed along this internal road, the woman would have been alive today. Let the traffic department check for the notification, but we will not allow any heavy vehicle on the internal road,” said De Sa.
Santrant panch Anton Fernandes said people had been demanding a ban on heavy vehicles on the internal road for several years, but said the government had done nothing in the matter.
“The panchayat had also passed a resolution in this matter in 2004, but nothing has been done and trucks move freely even in the market area,” said Fernandes.
Another resident, Edmund Carvalho, said the fatal accident had occurred due to the bad road.
“The deceased, Luisa Pereira, had also signed a letter to authorities requesting road repairs, but today she is a victim of the bad road and is no more with us.”
“Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and MLA Alina Saldanha had inspected the road and it was assured that the road would be hot-mixed within a week. But a number of months have passed and nothing has been done,” said Carvalho.
