Ponda : Access to 107 flats at the Housing Board Colony in Amrai-Curti was blocked on Wednesday after a PWD contractor excavated a gutter for reconstruction work in the middle of the monsoon. A nearly one-metre-wide trench was dug up at the T-junction of the colony’s main road, leaving residents stranded and vehicles stuck inside the colony.
The sudden excavation triggered chaos after residents discovered a heavy machinary digging their only access road on Wednesday morning. When questioned, the contractor said that PWD had taken up gutter repairs, which would take 10-15 days to complete. Locals were irked as the trench left them cut off from the main road.
MGP’s Ponda leader Dr Ketan Bhatikar criticised the government and PWD for starting such risky work during heavy rains. “The works that should have been completed before May 15 are being taken up in peak monsoon, risking lives. It is clear negligence on the part of the contractor,” Bhatikar said, demanding an FIR against those responsible.
He warned that the open gutter poses a danger to residents, especially children, who could fall in and be swept away. He also said that in case of medical emergencies, ambulances would not be able to reach the colony, forcing stranded residents to depend on taxis or borrowed vehicles.
Residents have demanded immediate access to their homes and warned they will block the Khandepar service road and the highway if the issue is not resolved by Thursday.
Local panch Haresh Naik stated that residents of the Housing Board area were informed in advance about the cross drainage work and were asked to remove their vehicles. While some complied, others did not. He said the work was taken up during the rains as gutter water had started entering nearby houses, and the contractor had planned to complete the work within five days on a war footing to ensure proper water flow. Naik claimed that some residents who opposed the work had created an issue. He also criticised Bhatikar for allegedly attempting to gain political mileage from the matter without fully understanding it.
