MAPUSA
Despite facing multiple challenges, the Public Works Department (PWD) intensified efforts to fill potholes across Goa ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival and managed to complete a significant portion of the repairs, thanks to favourable weather conditions in recent days.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had earlier assured the people that all potholes would be repaired before the festival.
Initially, this seemed like an impossible task due to the persistent rains, which hindered progress.
However, the dry spell over the last few days provided PWD contractors a much-needed opportunity to carry out repairs. By late last week, a substantial amount of pothole filling had been completed.
"We have managed to fill most of the potholes. Whatever remains will be completed by Friday evening. Considering public convenience, we've done our best to address the issue," said Uttam Parsekar, Principal Chief Engineer of the PWD.
However, the continuous rains proved to be a significant setback, as they frequently washed away freshly patched roads.
Contractors working late into the night with jet-patcher machines to meet the deadline faced the frustration of seeing their work undone by the downpour. Despite this, the department managed to make progress in many areas.
Mapusa Municipal Council Chairperson Nutan Bicholkar acknowledged the efforts, stating that major potholes had been filled, though minor road repairs also required attention.
“The PWD has put in a lot of effort, but due to the rains, much of the patchwork was washed away. We faced numerous challenges and had to redo several patches,” she said.
Earlier, Mapusa councillors had raised concerns about the town’s poor road conditions during a council meeting, urging the chairperson to prioritise repairs before the festival.
Assagao Sarpanch Hanumant Naik echoed similar sentiments, noting that while some potholes had been filled, the heavy rains often undid the repairs.
In some areas, like Assagao, the road conditions worsened due to excavation work by the electricity and PWD departments to lay underground power cables and water pipelines before the monsoon.
Despite the department’s efforts, the recurring rains meant that the problem persisted in many places, with only temporary fixes being possible.
