PANAJI
As many as 120 persons lost their lives in accidents since January 1 with an alarming spike of three fatalities occurring on a single day on Tuesday. But while the overall scenario has been a serious concern, the traffic situation in Ponda and Dharbandora talukas is especially dire. The two talukas have reported around 14 deaths and 38 injuries in less than three months.
Between April 1 and June 25, over 20 accidents have resulted in the deaths of around 14 persons including newly recruited police constable Rachat Satarkar, aged 27, who died in a self-accident in the early hours of April 28.
In the latest instance, biker Tanvesh Rivonkar lost his life in a self-accident at Sukhtali-Mollem, crashing into a parked vehicle after losing control. On Tuesday morning, an eight-year-old boy was struck by a car while walking to school in Dabal, Dharbandora. Fortunately, he sustained only injuries and is currently being treated at GMC.
The previous day, 52-year-old Sanjay Babalo Pednekar died after his scooter collided with a stray cow on the road in Par-Usgao. An employee of MRF Company, he was returning home after his night shift.
While overspeeding, drunken driving and helmet-less riding have been a worrying trend in Goa, self-accidents have also seen a surge.
An official statement from the Traffic Department is awaited even as DGP Jaspal Singh took to social media urging parents “to exercise influence over their kids”, as underage boys are frequently caught riding motorcycles at dangerous speeds.
In a separate post on X, SP Traffic Rahul Gupta highlighted that two recent fatalities in Usgao and Mollem were due to helmetless riding. In one instance, the rider had previously been fined for not wearing a helmet in 2021.
“Tragic accidents in Ponda TC on Monday highlight the critical importance of wearing helmets. A motorcyclist in Usgao, previously issued a helmet challan in 2021 lost his life after hitting cattle. An Ola scooter rider in Mollem succumbed to injuries after hitting a parked truck. Unfortunately, both were not wearing helmets,” he stated.
