Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Jun 4: South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha said that the government could have avoided the devastating effect of the pandemic had it heeded the Congress' advice of a lockdown 15 days before it finally went for it, expressing concern over the large number of lives of Goans lost to Covid-19 during the second wave.

"The death rate is now decreasing. But it could have been much better if the lockdown was imposed 15 days earlier; so many people died by then. When we were asking for a lockdown, the chief minister didn't open his eyes. Villages announced lockdown, but the government didn't," Sardinha told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Road Safety Commission for South Goa district at the South Goa collectorate.

In the meeting, Sardinha said that several proposals came forth from PWD and police, some of which were capital-intensive. Among the major proposals was the construction of a road overbridge at Comba where a rail underpass exists.