VASCO
Silky smooth roads and dazzling street lights were part of an impressive infrastructure made available by the State government for world leaders travelling along the NH17B between Dabolim Airport and Verna, as it staged the eighth annual BRICS summit in the State on October 15-16, 2016.
Exactly 20 months later, memories of the BRICS summit have long since faded and now, the street lights have been switched off since the last few days simply because of an unpaid bill of Rs 30 lakh.
While confusion prevails on who will clear the bill, the route has posed a threat to motorists as several accidents have been reported along this stretch of the highway which is in complete darkness after dusk.
The contractor installing the street lights, the State government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have pointed fingers at each other, as demands have been growing to get the electricity department to restore power supply to the street lights.
Local Panch Narayan Naik complained that the dark roads of the highway had become a death trap in the monsoons.
“The entire stretch along the highway between Verna and Mangor-Vasco is in darkness. We have raised several complaints but they have gone on deaf ears. People have been meeting with accidents almost everyday in the monsoons. Stray cattle cannot be seen in darkness and headlights of oncoming vehicles has aggravated the situation,” said Naik.
When contacted, Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha said she had received several complaints regarding the non-functional street lights.
“I think it is linked with non-payment of power bills. The NHAI has to pay the dues, but NHAI, in turn, has asked the state government to handle the issue. While this is being discussed, a decision should be taken urgently so that lightings along the highway can be restored quickly,” said Saldanha.
When contacted, NHAI Project Director P S Dodamani said the NHAI chairman had recently assured to sanction the amount to be paid to the State government, after which the street lights would be restored.
