Panaji: Ahead of monsoons, the District Magistrate North has prohibited digging or cutting of any public road within the city and villages without its prior permission.
The prohibition imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure will be in force for a period of 60 days.
However, the government public service providing agencies are excluded from the order on a condition that such digging has to be completed within 24 hours.
The district magistrate has ordered that no person, agency, organization, Government Department, local body, Public Sector Undertakings, etc. will undertake any digging or cutting of any of the public roads and its shoulders including all the city and village roads without prior written permission.
“This prohibition will not be applicable to any road digging done by any Government public utility service providing Departments such as Electricity and PWD for urgent repairs of electric cables and water pipelines only. It is further provided that such emergency digging will be covered immediately within less than 6 hours of digging and properly paved/cemented within 24 hours,” the order stated.
Any person, agency, or Department found contravening the order will be liable for punishment under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, it added.
