MARGAO
Following an initial representation submitted to the Police Inspector, Cuncolim Police Station, local citizens led by Elvis Gomes on Thursday escalated the petition against the lethal black stretch in Cuncolim to the highest constitutional, judicial, and administrative authorities in the country.
After addressing representations to the Chief Secretary (CS), and District Collector & Magistrate, South Goa with copies to the Chief Minister , Minister for Public Works Department (PWD), Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, High Court of Bombay at Goa, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Indian Roads Congress, Gomes told the media on Thursday that the fatalities occurring on the stretch from Bus stand along Demani till the Police Station in Cuncolim are directly attributable to the state and its agencies due to faulty drainage design and severe structural defects approved by NHAI.
A former bureaucrat, Gomes said that within three months, this lethal black spot had claimed three lives, including that of a retired employee of the Cuncolim Municipal Council and many unreported injuries.
“Manoeuvring through this portion of the highway has become life-threatening, particularly for senior citizens and young students and residents of Demani. Someone in the administration has to take responsibility for loss of lives in this manner. Public funds cannot continue to be spent on road infrastructure that is designed to claim lives. Immediate monetary relief must be granted to the family of the deceased whose death is directly attributable to the state and its agencies." Gomes said.
He criticised statutory bodies for inaction, noting that even the Indian Roads Congress, which met recently in Goa, failed to suggest corrective action. He questioned why the administration has neglected to commission nearby technical institutions like NIT Goa to conduct an immediate, independent engineering and safety audit.
Gomes demanded direct and prompt financial compensation to the families of victims, Directions to PWD and NHAI to rectify structural defects, enforce speed-calming measures, and install high-visibility warning, initiation of disciplinary and legal proceedings against engineering agencies, consultants and officials responsible for allowing known, fatal design defects to persist.
