Locals at wits’ end as Saligao-Pilerne road continues to deteriorate

Saligao: More than one-and-a-half years later, the Saligao-Pilerne road remains in shambles with more potholes than tar. The road was first dug up to lay water supply lines and later underground power cables, but it was never fully resurfaced, with only shabby patchwork done, said angry residents.Although commuters don’t have to take the 8km detour through Sangolda and Pilerne, most of the patchwork has already been washed off. Navigating the incline in the road leading from the Saligao circle to the Pilerne industrial estate gets especially dangerous, with some narrow escapes already witnessed on the pothole-ridden stretch.Dominic Paul, a restaurant owner, said patchwork on the road was completed quite recently but that it survived only for a few days under the downpour.

“An earthmover was brought here a few days ago and tar was poured into the potholes. And that was that. No other tool was used to permanently fix the issue. The rain is starting to wash all the work away,” said Paul.Heavy vehicles commuting on the road stretch struggle to maintain stability as they navigate from the Pilerne industrial estate and Saligao waste treatment plant. Paul said commuters still have to be very careful using this road.

“A week ago, there was a self-accident where a mother and a child had a fall due to the potholes,” he said.Farhan Raiza, a vegetable vendor, said, “The road was repaired in May, but it is still unusable. There is no swift action from the authorities but we have to use this road for commuting. We don’t have a choice.”Mohandas Vasudeo Mahambre, a former govt employee and local resident, said, “There were frequent accidents taking place here.

The chief minister assured to fix the road but the local MLA hasn’t paid any attention.”Social activist Sudesh Mayekar said the overall planning of the digging was flawed. “If they had begun digging in mid-Jan, the work could have been completed by April, prior to the monsoon,” he said. He said though govt has allocated funds for a new substation at Saligao and a water treatment plant at Pilerne, the planning of development works appears to have failed, with no attention paid to providing the basics, such as a good road.Pilerne sarpanch Reshma Bandodkar said, “Any repair work we carry out during the monsoon season is going to be a waste. A permanent fix will be done post the monsoon.”