Infrastructure is required but the govt needs to take public safety seriously
Vasco police have registered a case against a road construction company and its site officials in connection with the death of a 40-year-old rider who fell into an unbarricaded pit at an under-construction flyover site near Dabolim. The death of Maruti Jadhav, a resident of Dabolim, is another case of negligence and lack of public safety.
Police have booked the contractor, M/s M Venkata Rao Infra Projects Pvt Ltd, along with the project manager and site supervisor, for failing to adequately barricade the area or provide proper safety warnings to road users. There was a demand from the public, including the GOACAN organisation, for immediate action against the contractor. Some years ago, government officials were reluctant to act against the same contractor as there was no political backing for action against the firm, which allegedly is politically well-connected.
This is nothing new in Goa. Over the past five to six years, the state has been witnessing works for road expansion, bridges, elevated corridors, etc. Besides, Panaji has seen road works under the Smart City Mission, and many other towns and even villages have had works involving underground cabling, sewerage network laying, etc. In how many cases have the authorities been extra careful in terms of safety for workers and road users? In many cases, roadside pits are left open with no proper luminescent signage at night.
In the past two years itself, the state has seen several incidents highlighting poor public safety. The son of a former councillor of CCP died on the Rua de Ourem stretch when his two-wheeler landed in a pit dug for Smart City work. There was a hue and cry for some time, and the authorities were compelled to take some measures, including signage and proper light indicators at night, but the government authorities seem to have gone back to their usual ways – showing lax public safety measures. There were some other projects which the Smart City Mission claims are not theirs, but there too, the safety measures are thrown to the winds. This is no different from the works undertaken along the national highways. Pernem has seen the worst, especially in the past two years.
Last month, a concrete segment of the under-construction Porvorim elevated corridor collapsed at Guirim near the Socorro-Sangolda junction while being lifted onto a girder. It left two persons injured. It is sheer luck that motorists were not passing by when it fell. When such incidents occur, the government authorities indulge in blame games and point fingers at the contractors.
When roads are dug up, whatever is excavated is never backfilled or repaired in time, putting the lives of motorists and pedestrians in danger.
Can the state government shirk its responsibility in matters of public safety? Two years ago, the MoRTH came out with a circular listing measures to be taken for highway works. Is there any authority to ascertain whether the contractors adhere to the safety norms? Road safety is never given priority. A termination clause should be included in the agreement and enforced in case safety measures are not adhered to. However, it appears that due to lack of political and administrative will, the contractors continue to do what they think is best, thereby endangering lives. The government needs to put a mechanism in place so that a team is formed to verify whether safety measures are adopted by contractors or not.
