All over Goa, pothole-ridden roads need urgent repairs.Should we blame God, the rains, PWD Engineers, contractors or the ministers forsuch callously constructed roads that don’t last even for six months? Countrieslike Japan which are earthquake-prone, their civil engineers and architectshave researched and designed houses that can withstand the tremors. TheNetherlands, a country that lies below sea level, has done wonders to constructbarriers that can take care of the rising sea waves and water from destroyingtheir agricultural land and houses. But in India, we blame the natural forcesand now God has been drawn into this blame game. Recently, ex-minister of BJPDilip Parulekar slammed the PWD for the bad roads in Saligao. The State needs to create a road engineeringcell for constructing good, robust and smooth roads that may last for a minimumof three years. The road contractors should be made to deposit a percentageamount with the government treasurer which would be refundable at the end ofthree years as a guarantee amount payable with interest.
