P’yat slams shoddy execution of civil works, seeks district intervention
The state of roads in Navelim village.
MARGAO
The pathetic state of the village roads dug up to lay power cables, besides water pipeline and underground sewerage line has forced the Navelim village panchayat to knock the doors of the district administration for relief.
In a letter to the Margao Deputy Collector, Navelim Sarpanch Paul Pereira said the roads have now turned into bumpy, uneven, and dangerous stretches due to incomplete and poorly managed civil works by various government departments, particularly the Electricity, Water and Sewerage Departments. “This situation has caused not only severe inconvenience but also led to a significant rise in accidents, injuries, and public frustration,” he said.
Reminding that the Electricity Department had taken up the project to lay underground electricity cables throughout the village, the Sarpanch said while the panchayat welcomed this infrastructural development in the larger interest of modernising public utilities, the aftermath of the excavation has been nothing short of a nightmare for the residents and daily commuters. “The roads were dug extensively and left haphazardly filled with rubble and loose mud, making one side of the road completely unmotorable. This has forced motorists to use only one lane, even on wider stretches, leading to traffic bottlenecks and constant risk of collision,” he said.
Further compounding the problem, he said is the work carried out by the Sewerage Department, which involved digging and tunnel construction in several locations. “Post-completion, no substantial effort was made to restore the affected roads to their original condition. The soil remains loose, the roads dented and sunken, and the entire surface uneven and unstable. Motorists are frequently seen veering off their lanes to avoid the worst patches, which only increases the chances of head-on collisions,” he said.
The sarpanch pointed out that verbal assurances given to the panchayat that all restoration work would be completed in due time, have remained on paper. “They failed to act on their word, even during the dry spells before the onset of monsoon in May and June. Ironically, there were enough dry days that could have allowed timely repairs, but the departments did not seize the opportunity and continued to ignore the deteriorating road conditions,” he added.
Paul pointed out that the road conditions are particularly upsetting in the wards of Firgulem/ Mandopa, Mandopa, Moddi, and Rovora, where the damage is extensive and persistent. In these areas, the roads have either been dug up and left incomplete or filled haphazardly with rubble, leading to extremely unsafe and uneven surfaces, he added.
The sarpanch has urged the authorities to take up the matter with the concerned departments-namely the Electricity Department, Sewerage Department, Water Department, PWD (Roads) Department to ensure that road restoration works are undertaken at the earliest.
