VALPOI
Vehicles were caught up in a traffic jam for several hours after a truck broke down at the Chorla Ghat area between Goa and Belagavi on Thursday midnight.
Despite the North Goa collector’s ban on heavy vehicles entering Goa, heavy vehicles continue to travel along the Belagavi-Goa highway via Chorla and Keri.
According to reports, the truck broke down at the Chorla Ghat area on Thursday midnight, leading to a traffic jam on both sides of the highway.
Authorities managed to clear the road on one side in the morning, enabling the resumption of four-wheeler traffic. An attempt was made to remove the truck on Friday evening, but the truck could not be moved from the site. As a result, heavy vehicles are still stranded at the site till late Friday evening.
Locals have blamed local authorities for failing to implement the North Goa collector’s order, banning heavy vehicles on the Belagavi-Goa highway via Chorla and Keri. The movement of heavy vehicles has not only led to several mishaps, it has also led to frequent traffic jams in the area.
BELAGAVI
Transporters and commuters travelling on the Belagavi-Goa NH4A via Anmod continue to face hardships due to the incomplete highway and vehicles were left stranded for several hours due to a huge traffic jam on Thursday.
According to sources, about 150 trucks and other vehicles were left stranded on the Gunji- Watare stretch between Khanapur and Londa for over 20 hours from Wednesday till Thursday afternoon.
The huge traffic jam was caused after a truck got stuck in a huge pothole. This led to a huge queue of stranded vehicles along a 5-km stretch.
While the day passed as stranded motorists were impatient for authorities to clear the road, the bewildered truck drivers were left starving and at the mercy of heavy rains and night darkness, with nothing to eat and drink.
A team of activists from Gunji village comprising Parashram Tolgekar, Tanaji Goral, Pankaj Kutre, Santosh Patil, Satish Burud, Anil Desai, Narayan Birje and others turned Good Samaritans and served puffed rice (pohe) to the hungry truck drivers and their cleaners, as well as commuters travelling in private vehicles.
The villagers and motorists accused authorities and elected representatives for their inability to get the national highway completed at the earliest.
