CANACONA
The second fatal road mishap within two months at the treacherous Karmalghat has prompted sharp reactions from people in Canacona, with many accusing the State government of failing to take measures to ensure safety at the accident-prone site of the NH66.
Canacona Municipal Council former vice chairperson Dilip Kenkre, who visited the accident site, blamed the government’s failure to repairing or replace the broken crash-barriers at the treacherous curve at Karmalghat.
“It has been more than five months since the government had cut over 25 trees at this Karmalghat curve which was blamed as a hindrance for widening this narrow sharp turn. Why was nothing done or to repair or replace the broken crash-barrier,” asked Kenkre.
A visibly upset Goa Forward Party Environment Cell Chairman and NGO Goenkar General Secretary Vikas Bhagat said: “This disaster is government-made and one which could have been averted if the government had shown concern and acted on time.”
Bhagat has been spearheading movements to remove the bottlenecks on Karmalghat and to widen the road at Gulem, following a series of mishaps on this stretch of the NH66.
Congress leader Janardhan Bhandari also criticised the government, holding it responsible for the fatal mishap on Monday evening.
“Through various agitations, we had presented numerous demands to make our roads safe, immediate attention to remove the traffic bottlenecks at Karmalghat and to provide setbacks on the narrow and dangerous Gulem NH-66 section on immediate basis, but to no avail,” said Bhandari.
