Come monsoon; welcome potholes, on every road one can experience a nice humpty dumpty monsoon ride.
Year after year the situation is the same, same annual work; filling/repairing, and the deadline for completing the task. The deadline may be achieved or may not. Authorities should come up with some solution. This has been an annual affair now for the past few years. Experts in road construction should be entrusted to find out why this is happening. I am not an expert but just out of my observation, I would like to express my views; I may be right or wrong. Until the eighties the condition of the roads was not that bad but now the first shower of monsoon; the condition of the roads changed.
Calangute, Saligao, Parra, Mapusa roads were pothole-free for a long time. It is not the same story today, and there could be a number of reasons. Roads are not smooth; uneven surfaces, roads dug up for laying cables, pipelines, water connection, and so on, in some places no proper slope is maintained on the surface of the road for the water to flow freely, water remains on the road and wherever it is weak, water seeps through and make the way of potholes. No proper drainage, old drains called ‘Choinne’ in Konkani (old roadside drainage) which were on both sides of the road have disappeared and been replaced with cement blocks but lack continuity in some places; they are not cleaned before the monsoon, the way ‘choinne’ were cleaned.
There were no footpaths, footpaths are good but a proper drainage system also is necessary and maintained regularly. There were coconut trees or other trees at the side of the road in many places; where water was absorbed or would go in the fields or open places; there was no chance of water remaining on the road. Whenever roads are dug up for any reason they should immediately be brought to the position as they were; and not just filled with mud or stones or left unattended. Once the rains come the small cavity becomes a big pothole.
When roads are hot mixed, they look beautiful, everyone enjoys a smooth ride/drive but once the rains start you experience the nice monsoon ride/drive on hot mixed pothole roads. Potholes increase during monsoon and one reason could be the quality of hot mixing, the hot mix is dumped on top of the original base which does not grip the old surface, and also increases the height of the road and wherever it is weak make way for potholes; it is better if the old base is scrapped before hot mixing.
That way the height of the road also will not increase and houses/shops at the roadside will not be affected; as during monsoon due to the increase of road height water goes into the houses/shops. Could try at least once by scrapping the old base of the road before hot mixing, it will be a little extra work and inconvenience to the general public but if the problem of the potholes can be solved it will be a welcome move.