Potholes And Bad Roads
I was not at shocked at all, with the repulsive photographs of the potholes and the pathetic condition of the roads in and around the Capital City of Goa, in some of the news papers a few days ago. This appalling condition of the roads in Goa especially during the monsoons is not a new occurrence, this has been going on for a long long time but it's been only more prominent in the past decade. During the last couple of years I have been regular visitor to Goa during the months of April-May and every time I go down, I am amused to see most of the roads in south Goa being hot-mixed during that period and it makes me wonder about the policy of the government or the wisdom of the PWD to waste such huge amounts of tax payers money on this yearly exercise, as within a month or two these roads get washed out, creating craters large enough for buffalos to rest in. After all the exercise and the expense, the public should get at least 8-10 months of good roads to travel on, if not throughout the year. Every one knows that Goa is bless with more than average rainfall compared to the rest of India and that is pretty heavy by any standards and since the sub-standard quality of our roads do not remain intact during the rainy season, we get good roads for just a month or two, so what is the intelligence of hot-mixing roads just before the rains ? Why not start hot-mixing roads soon after the monsoons so that people get good roads for the major part of the year ? The atrocious quality of the road works in Goa, is a testimony by it's self, that there is no implementation of any quality standards at all. As noticed in the photographs, the aggregate used in the tar to reinforce the tarmac gets easily disintegrated thereby facilitating potholes. It is the simple logic, that the quality and the durability of roads is directly proportional to the materials used and the compaction of the road, that our esteemed authorities seem to conveniently forget, that leads to the pathetic state of our roads in Goa. There is yet another dangerous factor that leads to a number of accidents involving two wheelers. With yearly hot-mixing of the road, the thickness of the tarmac increases and since about a meter or so, on either side of the tarred road is left out without tar, it become very much uneven in height at the edge of the tarred portion of the road and hence becomes increasingly dangerous for motorcyclists to maneuver their bikes when buses and trucks ferociously speed past them, sometimes causing fatal accidents. So, why is that small portion of the road not tarred ? When tenders are put out for construction of roads does it not included the entire width of the road ? If not, why ? If yes, why is that portion not tarred ? Most of our Ministers and especially our PWD minister, have been making regular jaunts to foreign lands, do they not see the quality of roads and other aspects of quality of life out there ? Or are they only interested in carrying foreign exchange to convert black into white and be chief guests at cultural functions ? The Biblical expression of "having eyes but do not see" is so very relevant to our corrupt, egoistic and self-centered politicians, what they live for is just inflating their own fortunes, rest is irrelevant or immaterial to them, and the sooner we Goans accept this fact the better it will be. Freddy Agnelo Fernandes ##################################################################################### The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or otherwise placing reliance on the contents of this information is prohibited and may be unlawful in certain legal jurisdictions. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately by responding to this email and then delete it from your system. #####################################################################################
