Around one lakh vehicles were on the streets of Goa on the night of New Year’s Eve, a scene not different from celebrations, the tourist State has witnessed in the years that have gone by.
The coastal stretch, to be precise, experienced bumper to bumper traffic jam scenarios whilst heavy police presence kept people moving.
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A section of Goans welcomed 2021 quietly at home, over COVID-19 fear; but lakhs of people – majorly comprising domestic visitors – unfazed by the ongoing pandemic gathered across popular joints to usher in the New Year. Pertinent to mention with no social distancing being observed, the crowd was without face masks despite SOPs in place.
Around 10 parking spaces, temporarily created by the Traffic Department, having capacity of around 1,000 vehicles were also full. “Around 1 lakh vehicles are currently on the roads of Goa. It is bumper to bumper traffic and all parking slots are full with vehicles,” a top police official told Herald, past midnight as he was also personally monitoring the situation from ground zero.
As many as 1,000 personnel were deployed across every road, lanes and by-lanes on the New Year’s Eve with special traffic arrangements made to regulate movement of vehicles. The traffic arrangement will continue till January 5 owing to the long weekend.
Several thousand tourists including film celebrities and drive-in revelers from neighbouring states descended in the State for the celebration. Majority of non-Goa registered vehicles belong from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu followed by Andhra Pradesh. The huge rush in Goa has been a result of night curfew imposed in Maharashtra and Karnataka besides few other places. The crowd of revelers was the same excluding international tourists.
On New Year’s Day too, there was a lot of traffic in various parts of Goa especially along the Panjim to Vasco/Margao highway and the Agassaim to Cortalim stretch.
