Team Herald
PANJIM: The vehicular traffic menace has once again raised its ugly head in the capital city with waterlogging owing to rains making the situation worst.
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While haphazard parking has often been an added problem to the capital city, traffic and parking woes owing to late-night operations of casinos have been the talking point.
The Panjim Traffic Police claim its personnel are often on their toes to ensure smooth movement of vehicles, the problem arises during the late hours when tourist vehicles ply around the city, mostly consisting of casino visitors.
“The two-wheeler riders, as well as the four-wheelers, enter the one-way road or no parking zone. We keep track during the day but usually, our officials are not on-field during the night. However, the patrolling staff and the Pink Police force are around these places,” a senior official said.
With regards to the parking of vehicles, which goes full even during the night post-pandemic, the Corporation of the City of Panaji has deployed park parking attendants. “We have some attendants on night shift who ensure not only parking fees are collected but parking of vehicles is also proper to avoid nuisance to other motorists,” the CCP official said.
Meanwhile, social activist Advocate Aires Rodrigues has sought the intervention of the government over the utter traffic chaos which he alleges is owing to the illegal parking by casino vehicles and tourist taxis.
In a representation to the Chief Secretary, Adv Rodrigues has drawn his attention that despite Dayanand Bandodkar Marg being a No Parking-No Stopping Zone, the Traffic Police and Transport Department officials were conveniently turning Nelson’s eye at all those casino vehicles which are being illegally parked around the clock on this very busy road.
Stating that two-wheelers were also being parked on the footpaths along this road creating a hindrance and nuisance for the pedestrians, Rodrigues in his representation has stated that “to add to this traffic mayhem being witnessed in Panjim, that hundreds of tourist taxis are also illegally parked all over the city while the law requires that these taxis be stationed at the designated taxi stands or at the residence of the owner of the vehicle.”
