Court wants detailed submission on exact steps taken, including timeline
the goan I network
PANAJI
Slammed by the commuting public for the pathetic, potholed roads across Goa, the State government also came in for some stern treatment from the judiciary with a Bench of the Bombay High Court in Goa on Monday asking the Advocate General Devidas Pangam to file a detailed report within two days on what repair work it has done and intends to do. Pangam had told the Court that the government was taking steps to repair the roads but he was directed
to file a detailed submission in two days on the exact
steps taken and timelines for them.
The High Court bench was hearing the PIL filed by Aam Aadmi Party general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar who demanded urgent repairs of the rain-ravaged roads.
According to Padgaonkar’s lawyer, Jamshed Mistry, the State government has been directed to file a detailed report giving timelines of when it intends to properly fill the potholes.
A two-week extension was sought by the State government to file a reply, when the case was last heard.
The pathetic condition of the roads in Goa following a record rainfall of over 155 inches this monsoon had come under intense public scrutiny with the Pramod Sawant-led government and PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar, coming in for stick.
Pauskar in fact fumbled to respond to the public criticism was the butt of satirical memes across social media platforms with campaigns against the bad roads going viral. The minister kept setting multiple deadlines for repairs of the roads, none of which could be met.
The music video campaign by award-winning dancer Cecille Rodrigues with the hashtag #RostoCampaign also gained momentum across the State and also got noticed in the national media.
While government officials have maintained that much of the blame lies on the excessive rainfall the State witnessed this monsoon, the ongoing highway expansion and bridge construction work over the Zuari river has also left service roads damaged and in pathetic condition.
Soon after Pauskar’s request to forward pictures along with Google location of potholes, Netizens flooded the social media platforms with their take.
“Any potholes….Oh really….Does he not read the newspaper reports,” said a Chartered Accountant and a member of Aam Aadmi Party on a WhatsApp group in Bardez.
It may be recalled that, facing flak from motorists and commuting public on account of the pathetic, pot-holed condition of roads, the Public Works Department (PWD) had set up a public helpline to enable citizens to report pot-holes from anywhere in the State. PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar had said the department’s engineers would attend to pothole-related issues raised in WhatsApp messages sent to the number.
