Goa govt to conduct safety audit of roads amidst rising accidents

Goa CM Pramod Sawant issued directions to the state Public Works Department (PWD) to carry out an audit of state highways, village pathways and major district roads from safety point of view

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday issued directions to the state Public Works Department (PWD) to carry out an audit of state highways, village pathways and major district roads from safety point of view.

The directions were given in the view of series of road accidents in the coastal state. Sawant chaired a meeting of various departments to discuss the cause of rising number of road accidents in the state. In a statement issued after the meeting, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said Sawant has issued directions to the PWD to carry out the cause and analysis of accidents and implement short-term and long-term measures to prevent them. A senior PWD official informed that 10 per cent of the estimate of road work is assigned to safety aspects like erection of signboards and barricades. A direction was issued to expedite work and carry out an audit of state highways, village roads, and MDR (major district roads)," said the statement. At the meeting, the CM expressed concern over road accidents and resultant fatalities and directed authorities to take strict action to bring accidents under control.

A presentation was also made explaining data on road accidents. In the 2022 calendar year, 251 people were killed due to road accidents in Goa. It was observed that a majority of accidents have occurred on village roads and major district roads, Sawant said. Electronic enforcement/CCTC surveillance cameras feed will be used to issue challan (fine receipts) shortly, the CMO said. The state health department discussed the need for trauma care/ICU at both district hospitals with technical staff and four highway ambulances to improve emergency response to save the lives of accident victims. Drunken driving shall be dealt with in a strict and intensive manner. Discussion regarding time restriction on identified locations due to heavy vehicles and road rollers (10 wheeler and above) was also held during the meeting, the CMO said.