Team Goemkarponn
CUNCOLIM: Following the third fatal accident on a stretch of National Highway 66 (NH66) in the last three months, residents of Cuncolim, led by former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes, have demanded that police initiate criminal action against officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD), alleging that engineering flaws are responsible for the recurring deaths.
The demand comes in the wake of the death of a retired Cuncolim Municipal Council employee, who was fatally hit by a tanker while cycling near Demani on NH66.
In a representation submitted to the Police Inspector of Cuncolim Police Station, the citizens argued that the repeated accidents are linked to an allegedly defective drainage system and unsafe road design between the Cuncolim Bus Station and Demani. They urged the police to go beyond registering FIRs against vehicle drivers and investigate the structural shortcomings that they claim have turned the highway into a “death trap.”
“We cannot stand as mute spectators while avoidable engineering flaws continue to claim local lives,” Gomes said, adding that the hazardous stretch requires immediate intervention and accountability. He alleged that public funds had been spent on infrastructure that now poses a danger to life and property.
The residents have sought a series of immediate measures, including the installation of reflective barricades, high-visibility warning signs and speed-calming measures to prevent further accidents.
They also demanded that the stretch be reported to the District Road Safety Committee, District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police for declaration as an official accident blackspot, enabling urgent intervention by the NHAI and PWD.
Among the other demands are filing a report before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to direct immediate rectification of the drainage system as a public nuisance, invoking Section 198A of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act to fix responsibility on PWD and NHAI officials for alleged lapses in road design and safety standards, and appointing the National Institute of Technology (NIT) to conduct an independent safety audit of the highway stretch.
Gomes said the matter is also being brought to the notice of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and the PWD Minister, seeking urgent intervention to prevent further loss of life.
Addressing the gathering, Irineu Coutinho criticised those who had described the highway project as a “dream project,” stating that no development was worth more than the lives of Cuncolim residents. Shivdas Naik also addressed the meeting, supporting the demand for immediate corrective action.
