MAPUSA
With the tourism season set to kick in, coastal Calangute has been dogged by a long trail of potholed and uneven roads.
Motorists, who were forced to traverse through the broken roads during the monsoon, are now finding themselves negotiating pockmarked roads that are turning out to be treacherous.
Key arterial roads peppered with potholes make driving difficult resulting in slow-moving vehicles and traffic snarls.
One such road from Hotel Palmarinha right up to the St Alex Church, Calangute is in precarious condition.
The entire stretch of around 800 metres is pockmarked with huge potholes, making it next to impossible to travel on the road.
But since it’s a crucial road stretch which helps in avoiding the internal road through the busy village, motorists are forced to traverse through the bad stretch.
Locals complained that this particular road stretch has remained in disrepair for the last several years.
“The stretch from Hotel Palmarinha right up to the church is in miserable condition. With so many potholes on the stretch it looks like there is no road at all. The problem has increased in the last six months. This is a very busy road as tourists and even local residents find the road very convenient,” said a local resident.
Several roads in Baga are also in bad condition.
According to a local Antonio De Souza, road condition deteriorates due to cosmetic repair work done by the PWD and compounded by digging of roads by several agencies.
“In my area the road is dug up to lay underground electricity cables. Baga road is the worst. All roads in Calangute need periodical repairs after monsoons because there are no storm water drains anywhere,” said De Souza, a resident of Gauravaddo, Calangute.
A senior engineer with the PWD (roads) informed that the road from Nagoa Circle to Dolphin Circle, which includes the treacherous Hotel Palmarinha to church stretch, will be taken up which entails widening, construction of retaining wall at a certain stretch and hotmixing. The entire estimated cost is little over Rs 1 crore.
He said before the Ganesh Chaturthi an inspection was carried out of the road stretch along with the local MLA Michael Lobo.
“The file has been moved and the work has also been tendered. We are waiting for the work order,” the engineer informed.
