PANAJI
Facing a backlash from ordinary citizens over the pothole-ridden state of the roads in and around the capital city, Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate on Wednesday met his newly inducted cabinet colleague Digambar Kamat in a bid to hasten governmental action to remedy the situation.
Monserrate told the media after the meeting that Kamat has taken note of the urgency of the matter and promised to come up with an action plan for the repair and maintenance of the roads by Monday.
Incidentally, Kamat, who has been allocated the PWD portfolio, had on Wednesday held his first official meeting with top engineers from the department, where the monsoon-ravaged roads across the State dominated the discussions.
Monserrate, who represents the Panaji constituency, also said that he himself has been constantly engaging with the PWD officials with regard to the repairs of roads.
Meanwhile, the condition of roads has deteriorated in the face of heavy rains over the last few weeks. Stretches of road, especially in Bhatlem and the road along the Ourem creek in Neuginagar, are in pitiable condition.
A state-wide protest campaign launched by the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), styled #BJPCheBurak, has also drawn public attention, in the face of which authorities launched repair works across the State.
In Panaji, the CCP, which is headed by Monserrate’s son Rohit as mayor, also took up repair work, but within a couple of days, heavy showers washed away the patchwork.
AAP’s campaign
The AAP said on Wednesday that it is taking its #BJPCheBurak campaign to the people with a door-to-door campaign.
In a statement, AAP said bad roads were the cause of 50 per cent of fatalities in road accidents.
AAP general secretary Srikrishna Parab said party volunteers will go door-to-door to build up public pressure and compel the government to fix every road in Goa.
