Loose boulders near Kundaim road pose risk

Ponda: Boulders along the Kundaim road are on the verge of rolling onto the tarmac, risking the lives of commuters, even as the the national highways division of Goa govt has been awaiting the disaster management authority’s help to get some land to build a retaining wall.

Following locals’ demands that the stretch be broadened, work was taken up to convert the one-way road from Kundaim to the industrial estate to a two-way. The highways division had dug a hilly side along the road for the widening project.

It, however, failed to construct a retaining wall to prevent rocks and soil from sliding down the hill and onto the road. An official said a letter was submitted to the South Goa District Disaster Management Authority at least a year ago seeking the temporary use of a strip of land of the industrial estate to construct a retaining wall. “The authority hasn’t responded yet,” the official said and added that once construction of the wall is complete, the land will be reclaimed.