Pedestrians in Vasco have every reason to be an anxious lot when they cross the busy streets of Vasco each day. In the absence of sufficient traffic policemen to regulate traffic along the streets, crossing the roads has become a nightmare and an exercise fraught with danger.
While the Vasco Traffic Cell (VTC) has been entrusted a jurisdiction right up to Verna, it has inadequate personnel to manage traffic in Vasco, one of the busiest cities in the State.
“The Traffic Police has been deputed on the highway which stretches right up to Fr Agnelo Ashram at Verna, but they have failed to address the traffic woes in Vasco city,” said S Naik, a resident of Vasco.
“While vehicles have been found parked in a haphazard manner and in no-parking zones at the traffic island near Vasco Railway Station and near the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) building, a number of vehicles have been travelling at high speeds in the city, thereby endangering the lives of the pedestrians,” Naik added.
Voicing similar sentiments, a senior citizen, Dominic Rodrigues, stated that the Traffic Police has been busy maintaining the traffic system beyond the city limits, instead of monitoring the safety of pedestrians in the city.
“Senior citizens, ladies and children have to say prayers before crossing the road as vehicles speed away without following the speed limits in the city,” complained Rodrigues.
“Even if policemen are deputed at the traffic island near the municipal council and at other strategic locations, we have frequently seen them either talking on their mobile phones or chatting with their friends at one corner of the road, leaving us pedestrians at the mercy of the speeding vehicles,” Rodrigues added.
What has also raised eyebrows is the recent practice by policemen of all designations, including constables and those handling the police crane, to issue Challans to erring motorists along the highway.
According to police sources, only those police officers of the rank of assistant police sub-inspector, sub-inspector and police inspectors are authorised to issue Challans to those motorists violating traffic rules.
When contacted, Vasco Traffic PI Sudesh Nagvekar informed that the Vasco Traffic Cell consists of three police sub inspectors, 5 assistant police sub inspectors, 7 head constables and 16 constables. “One police constable each is deputed right from the IOC junction to the St Andrew’s Church junction at Vasco,” informed PI Nagvekar.
Asked why additional policemen were not deputed in the city to regulate the traffic which often moves in a rash and negligent manner, thereby risking the lives of pedestrians, PI Nagvekar sought to shift the blame on the civic authorities. “Apart from one Zebra Crossing zone near the Vasco Railway Station junction, the civic authority has not marked any other Zebra Crossing zones for pedestrians in Vasco city,” he said.
When brought to his notice that most traffic policemen, including police constables attached to the police crane, have been found issuing Challans to vehicles along the highway, PI Nagvekar justified the decision.
“There are many junctions along the highway which need to be manned to avoid any accidents,” he said.
