The Porvorim elevated corridor was inaugurated with much fanfare, with prominent personalities celebrating the Rs 641-crore project as a milestone in modern mobility. However, barely 24 hours after opening, the corridor was restricted following an accident that claimed two precious lives. This tragedy raises uncomfortable questions about traffic management, road engineering and safety planning. Could better design, additional safety measures or immediate deployment of traffic police have prevented the incident? Authorities may attribute the crash to rash or reckless driving, but this alone cannot absolve the agencies responsible for planning and managing such a major public project. With heavy vehicles and long-distance traffic using the route, particularly around the Atal Setu, effective traffic regulation, speed monitoring, signage and enforcement should have been in place from day one. Public projects are funded by taxpayers and must prioritise safety over publicity. The corridor does not belong to politicians who inaugurate it; it belongs to the people who pay for it, use it and, tragically, bear the cost when planning fails.
DIOMEDES PEREIRA, Corlim
