PANJIM/VASCO: With no cops at both the ends of the Zuari Bridge to guide the traffic, the breakdown of vehicles on both sides of the bridge led to massive traffic jam from Goa Velha to Cortalim in the late evening hours on Thursday.
Commuters travelling from Goa Velha to Cortalim and beyond faced hardships as traffic police were nowhere near the spot except for two personnel at the intersecting road of the bypass and the road leading to Pilar at Agasaim. Long queues formed due to the congestion.
The roads, the bypass as well as the internal road from Pilar to Agasaim were blocked for more than an hour from 8.15 until 9.30 pm.
Eyewitnesses informed that the serpentine queues were due to the breakdown of two cars on both the sides just before the bridge. “What was surprising was that the two cars which had a breakdown were less than 100 metres away from the Agasaim police station but there were no cops seen even outside the police station to assist the traffic movement,” a motorist travelling to Vasco informed.
He expressed that with monsoons lashing the State, the traffic police should have been there to especially assist in such incidences, where vehicles break down. “We all know that the stretch is prone to traffic congestion and jams. Despite that there were no cops, neither on Agasaim side nor near the Cortalim junction. We would have expected police towing vans to assist the vehicles and clear the roads but that’s not happening,” he stated.
When contacted, Vasco Traffic Police Inspector Suraj Samant said that his staff is deputed at the points where there is a need to regulate traffic.
He informed that traffic police under him work in two shifts to regulate the traffic till 9 pm. “Sometimes when there is necessity to clear traffic jams, our staff stays back until the traffic is cleared. On Thursday evening the traffic on Cortalim junction was cleared by 8.15 pm in my presence and then the traffic was smooth,” he claimed.
Samant’s explanation indicates that the cops were present near the Cortalim junction only till 8.15 pm and subsequently the congestion began.
However, commenting on the traffic congestion from Goa Velha to Agasaim stretch he said that the area till Maruti temple near Zuari Bridge comes under his jurisdiction and beyond that the area comes under Panjim traffic police. “Therefore I cannot comment about the traffic situation on the other side. Although due to continuous rainfall and bad conditions of roads, traffic movement tends to slow down,” he added.
