CANACONA
Speed breakers are meant to regulate and safeguard traffic, but a speed breaker on the road at Karvem in Gaondongrim has been linked to dozens of road mishaps in the last 15 days.
Angry locals have now blamed the PWD for needlessly laying the speed breaker on the straight road at Karvem, thereby converting it into an accident-prone zone.
According to former Gaondongrim sarpanch Rajendra Velip, the straight and otherwise normal road at Karvem has turned into an accident-prone zone after PWD laid a high and faulty speed breaker, while hotmixing the village road.
“Over 50 mishaps have taken place since this speed breaker was laid a fortnight ago, causing injuries to two-wheeler riders and damage to vehicles,” said Velip.
GPCC Secretary Mahadev Dessai, who inspected the road along with residents, blamed the PWD (Roads) section for the faulty speed breaker at Karvem.
“Speed breakers are laid to stop mishaps on roads, but just the opposite is happening with this particular speed breaker on a straight Gaondongrim-Bhatpal road at Karvem. Though a signboard has been placed right near the speed breaker, almost every motorist from both sides fails to realise the speed breaker and mishaps take place,” said Dessai.
A resident who runs a bar nearby said he had been repeatedly providing soda and water bottles to victims who had fallen on the road on account of the speed breaker.
“Besides two-wheelers, the underbody of many cars have also scraped due to the height of the speed breaker.”
Another resident, Rajendra Desai, said locals were unaware how and why the speed breaker was proposed on a straight and clear road, which posed no threat to motorists.
“When we asked a PWD engineer, we were told that the collector had ordered speed breakers at three places. Accordingly, the these speed breakers were laid near the Gaondongrim Govt High School, near the panchayat office and at Karvem.”
Other locals present at the site criticised a panch member for defending the speed breakers and they appealed to authorities to rectify the faulty speed breaker at Karvem.
“We request Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes, who had ceremoniously inaugurated the hotmixing of this road, to get the PWD to remove this death trap from the road to avoid further mishaps at the site,” Dessai said.
