PANAJI
Despite the BJP-led government’s claims of enhancing road infrastructure through the construction of highways and overbridges, data shows that the need for quality roads for everyday commute has been a far cry. The data accessed on PWD’s ‘Goa Mobile App’ since its launch in May 2024 provides a picture of contrast recording a deluge of road-related complaints. On an average, citizens have raised over 1,600 grievances each month, and that highlights the persistent issues faced by motorists.
From May 2024 till February 17, the app received 16,414 road-related complaints on the digital portal, with all cases being resolved. Shiroda was the only assembly constituency from where not a single complaint was received by the department.
A PWD official explains, “Once the citizen raises a grievance with proper location, an engineer visits the site to mark the defect. The contractor then carries out the repair and uploads proof of work done.”
“The PWD engineer will then verify the work done and the citizen will receive a report of the work carried out. We update the information accordingly,” the official added.
The North coastal constituencies like Saligao (862), Siolim (827), Calangute (817) reported the highest number of complaints apart from the St Cruz assembly constituency from where total 859 grievances were raised.
As many as 432 complaints were raised from the Sanquelim assembly constituency of the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Also, the people from Panaji constituency raised 559 grievances pertaining to the roads.
On the other hand, Mormugao (27) and Porvorim (50) saw the least number of complaints coming in.
In an effort to streamline the handling of public grievances the “PWD Goa Mobile App” was launched to handle grievances related to drinking water, sewerage, potholes, speed breakers and road signages.
“More than 90 per cent of the complaints were pertaining to potholes or bad roads or no proper road access. We have fixed all,” the official said adding ‘we were thrilled the way citizens responded to the App and we were able to address their issues’.
The Mobile App is available on iOS and Android platforms and can be downloaded from the respective App store.
The app provides the Department with accurate information about the location of fault and affected assets, so they can ensure prompt redressal. Citizens can follow the status of the complaint in the app, and get a notification when their complaint is resolved.
