Goa roads will be pothole-free in one week: PWD minister

Goa Public Works Department minister Deepak Pauskar on Tuesday said that repairs of all the roads in the state, except national highways, will be completed by next Monday.

The PWD has taken up the work of filling up potholes on a war footing, and it plans to complete it by Monday, the minister told reporters.

The staff is working round the clock, even in the night, to repair the roads, he said.

The minister had drawn flak when he failed to deliver on his promise to make the roads in the state pothole-free by Ganesh Chaturthi festival earlier this month.

Pauskar said he could not keep the assurance because of the incessant rains.

"We will be able to repair all the state highways and district, village and municipal roads now, as we have gotten some respite from the rains," he added.

Potholes on the national highways that run through the state would be repaired within next eight to ten days, he said.

"Contractors have been told that once they build or repair roads or the national highways, it is their responsibility to ensure that they are maintained for a certain period of time," the minister said.