Goa govt slams K’taka over ‘poor condition’ of roads

The Goa government on Monday slammed the Karnataka administration over the condition of roads in Belagavi district

The Goa government on Monday slammed the Karnataka administration over the condition of roads in Belagavi district.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant (ANI)

“The roads leading to Karnataka border are not in a good condition,” Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said onMonday while replying to a query over starting of electric shuttle buses between Goa and Belagavi. Sawant was talking to news persons after a function in Panaji, Goa.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant while talking to the media over commencing the electric buses said: “The portion in Karnataka, on Goa-Raichur State Highway No. 4A, till Belagavi is not motorable”.

Sawant termed the condition of the roads in Karnataka as “worst”.

“I have brought the issue to the knowledge of my Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai recently. He assured of getting the road repair works started once the monsoon is over. Sawant said that Bommai appreciated the initiative of using the electric bus instead of fuel vehicles.

Karnataka districts, Belagavi and Uttara Kannada, adjoining Goa have depended on latter for its livelihood as many food items, including vegetable, flower, milk, meat, consumed in Goa are produced, and manufactured in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, Goa’s Kadamba Transport Corporation ( KTC) chairman and BJP MLA Ulhas Tuenkar said: “The question of plying the electric buses on the Goa-Belagavi road would be considered only after the corporation receives another lot of 150 electric buses by December”.

Half will be used for the public transport internally in Goa and rest will be deployed to Karnataka and nearing parts of Maharashtra, Tuenkar said.

As the electric buses need to be recharged after completing a 100km distance Tuenkar said Goa government will set up charging units in Belagavi.

“Since hundreds of people from Karnataka, especially from drought-hit areas like Bagalkote, Vijayapur, Gadag, Haveri, Raichur districts have settled in Goa. The rechargeable units will also be established in those districts,” Tuenkar.

Khanapur Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar whose constituency covers about 90% of the total length of the Raichur-Panaji state highway said: “Despite concrete roads, several stretches were damaged due to the heavy rains that lashed the stated for days”.