PANAJI
Not controversial government policies, not sagging development projects, not human and social indices, instead potholed roads have occupied the political and social media mind space in Goa, as the State inches towards the 2022 Assembly polls.
The shoddy condition of Goa's roadways, across national and State highways, major and minor roads, appear all set to define the tone of the debate, just months before the elections.
Potholes have emerged as the subject of social media memes and political campaigns even as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Public Works Department Minister Deepak Pauskar have tried to deflect criticism against the government, with the latter giving a deadline to PWD officials to fix the roads and the latter flagging misuse of technology, more specifically the 'zoom tool', for the criticism.
“Some people have taken pictures and videos and zoomed in on them to expand the size of the potholes. It is not correct. The government is serious about fixing this issue. All the roads in the State will be carpeted afresh by December," Pauskar said earlier this week, when asked about the shoddy condition of roads.
The story of poor roads in Goa is perhaps as old as the shoddy quality of politicians that the land has thrown up with increasing frequency.
In 2019, it was a high visibility campaign launched by well known dancer and an Aam Aadmi Party leader Cecille Rodrigues' #Rosto campaign, which brought bad roads under the scanner.
Back then, Pauskar too had assured that the condition of roads would be addressed after the monsoons.
Two years later, according to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, extraordinarily heavy rains have managed to ravage Goa's roads once again.
At a recent function organised by the Public Works Department, Sawant in the presence of Pauskar and top officials of the department, had dared them to fix Goa's roads by November 1, blaming heavy rains for the poor condition.
Sawant's statement also came soon after Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgonakar ripped into the Chief Minister at a public function complaining about the bad condition of roads in Pernem.
"It has been two and a half years that the road work is being carried out. Why have we appointed such a shameless contractor? How much hardship do we face? First of all, I have neck related issues and then these hardships. Ask him (contractor) to complete the work faster," Ajgaonkar said at the function.
The assurance by Sawant to fix Goa's roads by November 1 has met with biting sarcasm from former PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, who has held the portfolio for more than a decade.
"I challenge the Chief Minister to fix and hotmix all rural, major district, district, internal roads, state and national highways... If he completes all these roads, even we will support him," Dhavalikar said.
Potholed roads have also inspired social media memes, with a user on Saturday even performing a shraddh (final rites) dedicated to the poor condition of roads and politicians responsible for their fate.
Former AAP general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar also played a pun on social media, by tapping the dual meaning of the word 'khoddo' (which in Konkani can be interpreted as both a bald head as well as pothole).
"Hello friends, if you have any work with me from November 1 onwards, you should come home to meet me. I will not be seen on roads from November 1," Padgaonkar said in a video on Facebook, which went viral.
