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After talks, Goa allows entry of heavy vehicles from K’taka
The Goa government has withdrawn an order barring entry of vehicles from Karnataka into the coastal state after appeals from stakeholders from both sides of the border, people in the know of the development said on Wednesday.
The Goa government has withdrawn an order barring entry of vehicles from Karnataka into the coastal state after appeals from stakeholders from both sides of the border, people in the know of the development said on Wednesday.
The Goa government on September 21 issued an order to restrict the movement of heavy vehicles on Belagavi-Chorla state highway - one of the biggest lifelines of both states - on which trucks supplying vegetables, fruits, flowers, meat, milk and other produce commute.
After Belagavi Lorry Owners’ Association had appealed the government to intervene in the matter, the Belagavi DC Nitesh Patil on Tuesday approached his North Goa counterpart Mamu Hage and expressed the concerns of traders in Karnataka.
The district magistrate of North Goa which had prevented the movement of heavy vehicles on this road till March 19, 2023, modified its order, allowing the plying of trucks from 10 pm to 5 am on this road.
“As the prohibition was imposed without prior information, hundreds of goods laden trucks were seen queuing at the border of Karnataka on Chorla road. As less durable goods like vegetable, milk, meat is more likely to be spoiled if it does not reach in a certain time, the lorry owners’ association submitted a memorandum to the Belagavi district administration and had submitted a memorandum on Monday,” said one person aware of the development.
Goa, which depended mainly on tourism, mainly those from abroad, had taken the decision to ensure cleanliness that would cause minimal inconvenience to tourists. Though the stretch between Goa and Belagavi is just around 100 km long, it takes several hours due to the poor condition of roads which the government had blamed on the excessive movement of heavy vehicles.
“The roads in Goa, despite being constructed under the strict vigil of engineers and third-party inspection agencies, were getting damaged due to the movement of overloaded trucks. However, following instructions from our higher-ups we allowed such trucks inside our state. The roads remain in condition till it’s guaranteed date if overloaded vehicles were not allowed on the roads which were not in a position to bear the weight of the vehicles,” a Goa RTO at the checkpoint at Chorla on Karnataka-Maharashtra border told HT, requesting not to be named.
The 83km Belagavi-Goa state highway which has 53km stretch in Karnataka from Belagavi to Chorla in Goa has the same condition as the scene of repairing, filling the potholes on the road could be viewed throughout the year.
The residents of Kanakumbi, a junction village in Khanapur taluk in Karnataka situated on the Chorla road also stressed on the need of Karnataka to follow the Goan government and prohibit the movement of trucks, multi-axle vehicles on the road to avoid damage caused by heavy vehicles.
