Mumbai-Goa Highway Chaos: Collapsed Bridges And Fatal Accidents Highlight Road Crisis

Over the past month, heavy rainfall has caused significant damage to critical infrastructure in the Konkan region. A bridge over the Jagbudi River in a local village has developed cracks, while a collapse near Mahad blocked traffic for nearly 12 hours. Additionally, the Dhamani bridge near Sangameshwar has completely fallen.

Mumbai-Goa highway Accidents

Accidents have surged due to shoddy construction work on a major bend in the Bhoste Ghat area. The ongoing work on the girder of the bridge near Kolad, which involved road closures from 11 AM to 1 PM each day, has left locals dissatisfied. Although potholes between Indapur and Vir were filled during this period, the job was poorly executed with gravel, leading to fears that these potholes would reappear within a week. This has cast doubt on the government's claims of completed work, prompting calls for a quality review.

Calls For Inquiry

Rabindra Waikar, a former minister in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's government and ex-guardian minister of Ratnagiri, has expressed concerns over the quality of the work and has demanded an inquiry from the central government.

High Fatality Rate

Since 2012, over 3,000 fatalities have occurred on this road, with 1,878 deaths recorded to date. Notably, 344 of these deaths occurred on the 84-kilometre stretch between Palaspe and Indapur. Despite numerous fatalities, misused funds, and ongoing protests, improvements to this road remain elusive.

Political Response

Last year, MNS President Raj Thackeray highlighted this issue during a tour and included it as a critical point while supporting the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. In Sindhudurg, MLA Nitesh Rane threw mud at an engineer due to the poor road conditions, while journalists in Raigad have been protesting for years without effect. The promises made by Minister Ravindra Chavan have been viewed as failures by the Konkani people.

Unresolved Issues

The road also serves the Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Raigad, and Maval Lok Sabha constituencies. Despite having 13 MLAs from both ruling and opposition parties, including Ravindra Chavan, Uday Samant, and Deepak Kesarkar, as well as influential figures like BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde and Mumbai BJP President MLA Ashish Shelar, the issues persist.

Even with significant political influence, including former Union Cabinet Minister Narayan Rane, the persistent problems with this road remain unanswered. This ongoing issue raises serious questions about the effectiveness of political power in resolving infrastructure challenges in the Konkan region.