Team Herald
CALANGUTE: A day after the traffic chaos on National Highway 17, it was the turn of Calangute, the premier tourist destination in the state, which was completely choked for entire day.
Starting from St Alex Church in Calangute a huge line of tourist buses from Gujarat and Maharashtra were seen parked on both sides of the road till the Calangute beach.
The situation was such that not even a two-wheeler, or ambulance or a firefighting vehicle could pass.
While there was high presence of police and traffic personnel, the number of buses and tempo travelers, besides personal vehicles of tourists from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka made the matter worst.
Being the weekend, the tourists thronged to the queen of beaches, at Candolim, Candolim and Baga.
To make matters worse it was a Saturday Bazaar in Calangute, on Don Bosco
road till the Dr Jack Sequeira junction.
A Calangute local Sebastian Cruz said he had to wait for nearly one and half hour to reach from St Anthony’s chapel to Baga.
“The vehicles were just not moving as they were parked haphazardly,” he said.
“It’s a bad situation in Calangute mainly due to the number of buses which have dotted the main as well as the internal roads,” said Calangute MLA Michael Lobo.
He said that the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) has marked the fields near the St Alex Church as parking zones.
“We have widened the entire the entire roads in Calangute but still this is the situation. Consider if these were the same old road, what would have been the situation,” he said adding there is a need to fill fields temporarily for parking purpose and removed during monsoons.
North Goa Collector Agnel Fernandes told Herald he has convened a meeting on Tuesday with the SPs, DySPs, PIs and the MLAs of three constiteuncies of Porvorim, Saligao and Calangute.
“I am told there were 200 buses from Saligao to Calangute. The question arises how were they permitted in the first place?” said the collector.
He said the meeting on Tuesday will discuss the plan for the season ahead.
“We need to sort this issue out as there is a December season ahead which needs to be handled properly,” he said.
Interestingly, none of the traffic officials were contactable for comment.
