MARGAO: The death of a budding youth from Navelim has sparked unrest among Seraulim villagers, who on Saturday, held a candlelight vigil protesting against the alleged poor engineering of underpass and its connecting roadways in the village.
The villagers expressed their frustration over the government’s failure to address the longstanding issue regarding the underpass and its connecting roadways. One end of the road leads to the wholesale fish market, while the other intersects with the main Seraulim-Mungul road.
They pledged to intensify their efforts to address the issue to prevent tragedies in future.
On Saturday, in a tragic incident, 19-year-old pillion rider Raylon Fernandes was killed in a collision with a tipper truck at Seraulim, while, scooter rider Aaron Furtado sustained injuries in the accident.
According to Rohan Naik, head constable at Colva Police Station, the driver of the tipper truck was proceeding from Mungul to Seraulim when the accident occurred.
The driver, identified as Ramesh Bapu Patekar, 57 from Tisk Usgao, Ponda, allegedly drove in a rash and negligent manner. As he reached the junction near Palmira Bai Bar in Seraulim, he took a right turn without proper care, causing the rear right tire of the truck to collide with the youth’s scooter.
The impact was such that Raylon suffered grievous injuries and succumbed on being shifted to the South Goa District Hospital (SGDH) in Margao.
They have vowed to compel the village panchayat to address encroachments on both main and subsidiary roads within the village, which pose threat to public safety. Additionally, the villagers are committed to halting all illegal land fillings and initiating a tenant verification process through the Colva Police.
Saturnino Rodrigues, a resident of Seraulim, said, “The recent accidental death of a young man from Navelim has deeply agitated the villagers, especially considering the numerous representations made through the village panchayat to the South Goa Collector and other relevant authorities regarding the underpass and its adjoining road.”
The hazards and other aspects of faulty engineering were brought to the notice of the authorities concerned, including the Konkan Railway, PWD, and various government channels and yet no action has been taken thus far, he alleged.
Rodrigues emphasised that the recent fatal accident, resulting in the loss of one budding youth, is attributed to the faulty design of the railway underpass.
He said that the Seraulim Speak is a socio-political group comprising villagers who engage in discussions on various issues through social media platforms.
The villagers assert that the underpass itself is illegal, as no sanction or formal opening has been carried out to this date. They highlight that even with slight rainfall; the underpass gets inundated, raising concerns about the risk of people drowning there.
The villagers stated that the panchayat is aware of all the requests made by the villagers at the gram sabhas. They said that the panchayat officials are sympathetic to the issues raised and have promised that all genuine requests of the villagers will be met.