During his recent visit to Goa Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari made two very tall promises. That roads in India within two years would be better than the United States and that the viewing gallery at the Zuari Bridge would be better than that at Eiffel Tower in Paris. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
The PWD asking people to report potholes and that they would be fixed in three days is preposterous. In a very small State like Goa are the PWD officials so blind that they cannot see for themselves the potholes all over. Or would the High Court have to monitor this issue too?
This government which has miserably failed on all fronts has allowed even the state of the roads across Goa to deteriorate to such an extent that some roads pose a serious danger to the public.
There are potholes galore wherever you go. The roads have also become accident prone besides the damage that is being done to our vehicles and the human body especially for two wheeler riders on account of the bumpy ride. So the authorities need to act with utmost urgency to ensure that the roads are made safe and motorable.
In 2003 the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced that anyone spotting a pothole on any road in Goa would be rewarded with Rs 1000. The horrific factual position today is that there is not a road in the State without potholes. It augurs very shabbily for a leading tourist destination that we want to be.
As the Bombay High Court has already ruled that good roads is a fundamental right of every citizen, the government needs to wake up from its slumber and embark upon repairing the potholed roads on a priority.