SANGAMESHWAR, July 26 -- A 14-year old promise to deliver one of Maharashtra's flagship expressways-the Mumbai-Goa National Highway-has unravelled into a journey of endless suffering: broken bones, social dislocation, lost livelihoods and damaged vehicles. And here's the ironic twist-in many places, tattered stretches and cratered surfaces are so dangerous that motorists are forced to take detours along service roads and bypasses. Now, the villagers are pushing back. On July 28, residents and traders from Sangameshwar in Ratnagiri district will gather in protest along the highway, demanding a solution to its pitiable condition and a timeline for completion. "The highway is ruining our businesses, putting lives at risk, and causing immense hardship during festivals and emergencies. We have run out of patience," says Rahul Gurav, a local businessman from Sangameshwar and one of the organisers of the protest. The highway, also called the Konkan Expressway, or simply the NH-66, was meant to be a state-of-the-art corridor of smooth, high-speed travel, stretching 440 km from Palaspe in Panvel near Mumbai, to Zarap on the Maharashtra-Goa border. Launched in 2011, the project aims to transform the old, two-lane Mumbai-Goa Highway into a four-lane expressway, cutting a gruelling 12-hour journey down to a six-hour ride. The reality? Not even close. Since the project involves upgrading a highway in use, the authorities have divided the stretch into segments. While the carriageway, underpasses and flyovers are being built, a series of service roads allows uninterrupted traffic flow. And, yet, deadlines for completion of the expressway have been postponed several times. The initial 84-km stretch, from Panvel to Indapur, is admittedly the most challenging as it cuts through mountainous terrain and crosses rivers. But, the villagers say, given the technology available, there's no reason the highway should be marked by craters, half-finished flyovers, and loose gravel where the concrete has crumbled. "We have complained, written letters and met officials. Nothing has worked," says Chaitanya Patil, a 28-year-old activist. Sangameshwar Market is one of the largest in the tehsil, a crucial hub for people from nearly ten villages. "But the approach road is too risky to navigate and people are meeting with accidents," says Gurav. "Many have begun to patronise local markets instead. This is affecting livelihoods." Amol Shetye, another trader from the area, points to a spot near Ozar Khol village, where a state transport bus and a mini-bus recently collided. "The road is so narrow and broken, accidents here are frequent. One accident victim was rendered bedridden and fractures are not uncommon. Construction work is dragging," says Shetye. At Hamrapur phata, the drive turns into a rollercoaster ride. Massive potholes, 1.5ft to 2ft deep, cover a 300-m stretch. The authorities have been filling these craters with crushed stones and sand, which come loose in no time. In Dolvi, the road on either side of an under-construction flyover is a death trap. It's no different in Gadab, Pen and Pandapur villages, where long stretches of the newly built highway have caved in or crumbled. Chaitanya Patil says, "I've been fighting for proper roads for over ten years. Every complaint leads to a temporary fix that vanishes in a couple of days." At Pandapur, the concrete has torn away, exposing the steel rebars in the middle of the carriageway. "We are not expecting a runway. All we want is a basic, motorable road, without potholes," says Patil. The delays are not limited to road repairs. Flyovers planned years ago are still incomplete. According to locals, six flyovers between Wadkhal and Mahad are still under construction. "Their pillars and walls were built five or six years ago. Many are already showing damage, and not a single flyover is functional," says Patil. Worse, the road running alongside these incomplete structures is in terrible shape. In some areas, service roads have not been provided, forcing villagers to take risky shortcuts or walk along the busy highway, leading to accidents. The situation is particularly precarious at Parshuram Ghat, a scenic but dangerous stretch, especially during the monsoon. Jaideep Joshi, a resident of the nearby village, says, "Every week, the ghat is closed to clear debris. There's a 1.5-km stretch where both up and down traffic is squeezed onto a single two-lane road." In Pedhe village, near Chiplun, the road collapsed last year and reconstruction is still incomplete. "They've only put plastic sheets and temporary fillers. It's not a solution," he says. "Traffic builds up here quickly, and in the monsoon, it's a nightmare," adds Joshi. The 84-km stretch of the highway, between Panvel and Indapur, falls under the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), while the rest is managed by the state government's National Highway Public Works Department (NH PWD). Yashwant Ghotkar, project director of the NHAI for the Panvel-to-Indapur stretch, said, "We are unable to carry out continuous work on any one stretch because of the constant traffic flow." He added, "Since some flyovers are yet to be built, vehicles are being diverted onto service roads, which were not designed to handle such heavy loads. This has led to potholes." According to Ghotkar, around 77km of the 84-km stretch between Panvel and Indapur has been completed. He added that they plan to concrete the service roads but the monsoon has made it difficult. "We need a dry spell to complete the concretisation. Once we get that, hopefully, by the end of September or before the Ganpati festival, we aim to make the highway pothole-free." Ghotkar admitted that temporary pothole-filling is ongoing but not good enough. "What we really need is full road closure to finish the work properly, but that's not possible right now," he said....