Panvel: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the Raigad Collectorate and Superintendent of Police to file cases of culpable homicide against the contractors who have stopped the work of Mumbai-Goa highway and are playing with people’s lives. After inspecting the highway works from Palaspe to Mangaon, the Chief Minister gave information about this at Mangaon.
Due to the inactivity of some contractors, the work of the highway has stalled. However, in order not to disturb the Ganesha devotees going to Konkan for Ganeshotsav, the potholes are being filled using geo polymer techno method and the work of filling potholes has been started using rapid quick hardener, DLC and precast panel method, the Chief Minister said. He assured that the work of filling maximum potholes will be completed before Ganeshotsav. If the Chief Minister had come earlier for the inspection, the work would have been completed by now, said Vishnu Dhure, office-bearer of the Sindhudurg organization in Kalamboli. At the same time, he also acknowledged that he would be the first Chief Minister to get down and fill potholes. Panvel Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, National Highway Authority, all the organizations had taken up the work of filling potholes on the roads since Sunday night as the Chief Minister was coming. Still, the pitfalls have not been filled and the government system has become a mess. It will not work by just sacking or blacklisting the malpractice contractors. Criminal cases should be registered against them. Contractors work for money, they don’t work for free. So playing with people’s lives will not work. *- Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister*