TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024
Team Herald
MARGAO: Believe it or not, if you thought traffic congestion occurs far away from the reach of the police, afrom Margao Police Station, traffic jams test the patience of a. Although commutersa are labouring to negotiate the traffic in their close vicinity, not a single policeman is deputed to control the traffic on the narrow Fatima Convent School road.
Margao has many traffic congestion points. Two of these points are the narrow lane bordering Fatima Convent School near the Margao Police Station and the congestion point at Comba.
Traffic congestion is a daily torture for vehicles users outside Fatima Convent High School, Margaoa. The problem gains gravity due to the double parking which takes places at peak hours on both sides of the road. Sometimes, even a scooter is parked in the middle of the road causing severe traffic issue. But the police who are just 10 metres away, are nowhere at the site, to alleviate the woes of commuters who have to toil in bumper to bumper traffic.
Dinesh Kakodkar, a resident of Margao narrated, “Vehicles are parked on both sides of the road near Fatima Convent School which is the root cause of congestion here. There is not even a single policeman here. It is their duty to regulate traffic. I request the Margao Police Inspector to depute a policeman when the classes start and end. Friday, there were four policemen to fine those not wearing helmets at Navelim.”
Dinesh said, “They are imposing fines on the poor people on two-wheelers. Why can't they bring discipline to four-wheeler users? There is no parking here; they can collect so much revenue.”
Pointing out to the ironic proximity of the police station, Kakodkar said, “The police station is just 10 metres away. They fine us Rs 1,000 for not wearing helmets. Police should take some initiative to control the traffic here. See how the people are suffering in traffic. The traffic is strangulating. This is the situation in Margao.”
Damodar Onsker, a resident of Margao, pointed out that there are scores of home guards and police constables who are recruited by the government. “The number of policemen recruited is the highest among government servants. But police are nowhere to be seen where traffic congestion takes place. Once recruited, police constables think they are on a higher level and they feel that home guards should be doing their job. If there are no policemen, people are bound to indulge in mischief in traffic. The Fatima Convent School lane is choked. But we do not interfere. Sometimes we have to take aside the wrongly parked vehicles and move on. Drivers get angry when questioned. They may even abuse you.”
Severe traffic congestion also takes place at the railway gate at Comba, Margao. The road is choked with vehicles crossing the railway track as many refuse to take the underpass. The situation is excruciated with the presence of a college and higher secondary in the vicinity.
“Now take the case of Pedda, Comba, where I reside. There, Vidya Vikas Mandir and Damodar College are located. In the morning, we are unable to get out of our houses. Afternoon there is traffic congestion. Evening too we are unable to get in and out of our houses, Onsker underlined.
“The railway gate opens and closes every 15 minutes. This too causes traffic congestion on both sides of the railway track,” Dinesh Kakodkar pointed out.
As Margao is choked with traffic congestion at various pressure points, will the Margao Traffic Police eke out a solution to solve the traffic woes of the commercial capital? The people have appealed to the Margao Police Inspector to hammer out a solution to save them from daily torture in traffic.
One senior police officer from the Margao Traffic Cell told O Heraldo that the required traffic constables are deployed at this point to ease the movement of traffic during school hours.
He said that from three different schools, students accompanied by parents, converge at this point and in order to regulate the traffic, policemen are posted at these points.
While a parent admitted that congestion was occurring near the telecom exchange, and it becomes difficult to overcome the situation during school hours as everyone is in a hurry to reach their respective destinations. It is not only parents and students, other motorists too use this route.
