PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today assured that road repair work across Goa has already begun and will be completed within 15 days. His statement came hours after an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delegation met him and submitted over one lakh signed petitions demanding safer roads under the party’s ‘BJP Che Burak’ campaign.
Earlier in the day, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal flagged off a tempo loaded with the petitions from outside the party office in Panaji, which was later taken to the Chief Minister.
Accusing the state government of “massive corruption” in road construction, Kejriwal said, “The roads crumble within months of being repaired. Citizens who demand fixes are threatened and beaten. Even the Chief Minister has admitted in the Assembly that Goa’s roads are in a bad state.”
He added that several AAP volunteers collecting signatures for the campaign were also threatened but “did not back down.”
Kejriwal further said that Goa’s poor road conditions were damaging its global image. “No foreign tourist leaves India without visiting Goa. When they see such bad and dirty roads, imagine what they think of our country,” he remarked.
After submitting the petitions, AAP Goa President Amit Palekar said the delegation had conveyed the concerns of one lakh families to the Chief Minister. “The CM has assured us that work will begin within four days and that potholes on several roads will be filled before Diwali,” Palekar said.
AAP has said it will review the government’s progress before Diwali to verify if the assurances are kept.
