NACHINOLA: For over 24 hours Javed Sadekar’s wife has been hoping that the Lord will intercede and grant a miracle — get her husband back. Sadekar was flung off the Mandovi bridge and into the river when a reckless rent-a-car tourist, crashed into Sadekar’s motorcycle, catapulting the father of three (aged 3, 6 and 11) into the river and his family into darkness.
There is anxiety, hope, fear, a sense of loss, but no closure. The family is in a deep state of shock. They are hoping against hope, that their dearest son, husband and father be found.
Martina Carrasco, sister-in-law of Javed said, “The family is broken, but we are still hoping for the best. The children know the father is missing, but they are too small to understand. The little ones are aged three and a half years, six years and 11 years respectively. My mother (mother-in-law of Javed, Marisa Carrasco) is strong, but not my dad.”
Asked whether they visited the Goa Medical College to search for Javed, Martina said they visited the Panjim police station. “One body was found and kept at GMC, but it was identified as not of Javed, so we did not go to the GMC. We are speaking to the Panjim Police Inspector to keep on the search and rescue operation.”
A family member said, "The situation at home is sombre and they have not talked to the media due to the heart-wrenching situation. We will talk to the media in a day or two," he said.
Neighbour Beverly Mendes said, “The family is in a bad state. He has not been traced. A lot of people are visiting the family. In fact, the ‘Nachinola Somudai’ visited the house of Marisa Carrasco and prayed together with the family that Javed may be found. They have three kids, and everybody is worried. The wife is completely broken. As soon as they got the news the neighbours heard the family wailing. They are keeping the hope alive. More search and rescue operations should go on. The kids are all very small.”
Aldona MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira said that the search and rescue operations continued on Friday with helicopters and boats searching for Javed. But they could not find him.
“It is possible that he has been carried away by the underwater current. I talked to the Panjim Police Inspector. He said that the water is not clear and we do not know the reason. This makes search operation difficult.”
Ferreira said he visited the family Friday evening to offer moral support. “They are very depressed. I understand that Javed had recently got a job offer from Dubai. I have not interacted with the family in the past and I did not know Javed. But I learnt from people that Javed was a very nice person,” Ferreira said.
As the family copes with this heart-wrenching uncertainty, one hopes that the police and other services keep up their search operations.
Rent-a-car owner to be issued show cause notice: Transport Minister
PANJIM: Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho on Friday said the Department of Transport has been instructed to issue show cause notice to the rent-a-car owner, which collided against a two-wheeler rider on Mandovi bridge on Thursday, resulting in the biker falling off the bridge into Mandovi river.
Speaking to media persons, Godinho said, ”I have instructed the Transport Department to issue a show cause notice to the owner of the rent-a-car which was involved in the accident. Even RTO to has been instructed to write to his counterpart in Odisha with a request to cancel the driving licence of person who was driving the car.”
The Minister claimed that rent-a-car owners are not following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) while renting out vehicles to tourists.
''Recently, two accidents have occurred. Some Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are required to be followed but none of the rent-a-car owners who have been given licences are following. While renting out a vehicle, it is mandatory to tell the drivers not to indulge in drunk and drive and rash driving as most of the roads in the state are narrow. This is the reason that we have not issued any fresh license for rent-a-car for the last three years. They (rent-a-car owners) are totally negligent. The accidents will keep on happening if they are not careful,'' Godinho said.
He said there is a need for an App through which the vehicles given on rent can be tracked.
Godinho said the State government has received Rs 150 crore from the Centre for working on 12 accident black spots which have been identified across the State.
The work to be executed by the Public Works Department (PWD) is getting delayed as there is some issue of availability of land at some of the places.