TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2024
Team Herald
PONDA: The unplanned road network in Ponda town is proving hazardous for motorists. Passenger buses, mostly private ones, are taking a dangerous U-turn at the Shapur-Bandora junction to proceed towards the KTC bus stand, putting motorists entering Ponda from Panjim and the vehicles traveling from Belgaum and Usgao, towards Panjim, at risk.
The lack of an underpass on the four-lane national highway is cited as the main reason for this situation. Since it is a national highway, vehicles traveling to Panjim are usually speeding. An underpass was required for the vehicles proceeding to the bus stand, RTO office and the for the villagers of Chirpute. There are roughly 5,000 people living in Chirpute who have to take a U-turn while leaving the town. Technically, the buses going to the KTC terminus now have to go all the way to the Farmagudi Circle to take a U-turn. A few months ago, RTO officers were fining motorists violating the rule, but in the absence of a policeman, vehicles prefer to turn at the accident-prone junction. “The sudden U-turn by buses is not posing danger only to other vehicles but also to the passengers in these buses. Traffic police need to be deployed at this junction. We will send an appeal to the RTO in this regard,” said Bandora Sarpanch Sukhanand Kurpaskar.
“We have started written communication with the PWD, to lay dividers on the National Highway. Vehicles are supposed to turn at the Farmagudi Circle, but they take the shortcut near Safa Masjid instead,to reach their destination early,” said PI of the Ponda RTO, Krishna Sinari.
