‘Quepem ore trucks ply at school hours, kids at risk’

  • | Sunday | 24th March, 2019

QUEPEM: Transportation of e-auctioned ore from Cavrem, Pirla, through the town during school hours is raising serious concerns with heavy vehicular movement posing a threat to the safety of school children.In the past, the trucks followed a set routine. We don’t know what will happen latter when mining resumes,” he said.On Friday evening, two mining trucks collided at Igramoll, Quepem, disrupting traffic on the Quepem-Cuncolim road for almost four hours. They would halt at Tank, Ambaulim, and would start plying only after 8am when the children were inside the school premises. Operations would halt again from 1pm to 2pm, school closing hours. “Mining activities haven’t even started in full swing, but trucks are being lined up on the roads, disrupting traffic.

QUEPEM: Transportation of e-auctioned ore from Cavrem, Pirla, through the town during school hours is raising serious concerns with heavy vehicular movement posing a threat to the safety of school children.In the past, the trucks followed a set routine. They would halt at Tank, Ambaulim, and would start plying only after 8am when the children were inside the school premises. Operations would halt again from 1pm to 2pm, school closing hours. Presently, however, the trucks ply continuously from 7am to 7pm, leaving some citizens agitated over the precedence given to ore transportation over children’s safety.“The safety of our children is at stake due to rash and negligent driving,” said Quepem town resident Alwyn Menezes. Meanwhile, former Quepem municipal council chairperson Manuel Colaco threatened to start an agitation if due safety precautions are not enforced during the morning and afternoon hours. He also called on Quepem deputy collector, Rohit Kadam, and requested him to stop transportation between 7am to 8am and 1pm to 2pm. “The transportation system should also be streamlined for the safety of the public,” he said.Kadam told TOI that he has issued instructions to traffic cell PI to immediately follow Supreme Court guidelines for ore transportation. “I have instructed them to allow ore trucks to ply only from 8am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm,” Kadam said.Colaco also pointed out to the government’s failure to start a mining corridor or even complete the land acquisition process for the same. “Mining activities haven’t even started in full swing, but trucks are being lined up on the roads, disrupting traffic. We don’t know what will happen latter when mining resumes,” he said.On Friday evening, two mining trucks collided at Igramoll, Quepem, disrupting traffic on the Quepem-Cuncolim road for almost four hours. Eye witnesses told TOI that both trucks, proceeding in opposite directions, were being driven at high speed, this despite having a speed monitor installed. The impact of the collision was such that the empty truck twisted and fell into the drain. Two pedestrians had a lucky escape. Witnesses at the site said the driver of the empty truck was drunk, but Quepem police said the alcohol test was negative.Kadam said that as per high court directives, only 20 trucks will be allowed to ply in an hour to prevent traffic jams.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Latest Goa headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles