The continuous high-speed traffic at the Porvorim- Mapusa highway is giving nightmares to the
pedestrians. Since after getting down from the Panjim Bridge, there is no
red-light up till Coqueiro circle, the speed of the traffic is very high and
the flow of the traffic is continuous.
In fact the traffic coming from Nerul and Reis Magos also merges
in before Mall De Goa. The worst hit stretch is between the petrol pump next to
Delfinos and Mall De Goa. Those who get down from buses at Teen No. Building
Bus Stop sometimes have to spend as long as 20 minutes to cross the road. For
senior citizens, the situation is tougher. Their movements are slow and the
traffic is on full speed, showing and raising hands for people to stop and slow
down, they somehow manage to struggle their way through from one end to
another.
Mohd Shahadat, who commutes by bus and works in Gopal Nagar
says, “In evenings it sometimes takes me 15-20 minutes waiting for the traffic
to slow down a bit to cross the road. Even when I sometimes drive a
two-wheeler, this stretch is particularly dangerous. The traffic is coming at
so much speed and because there is no red light, it doesn’t even slow down”.
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To make things even
worse, there is a patch of digging work going on just opposite Mall De Goa,
which results in to a choc-o-block situation in the peak hours. Sadly no
traffic or police personnel are seen guiding the traffic to ensure a smooth
flow.
Kuljeet Kaur, a
senior citizen who resides in Porvorim and often comes to Delfinos for shopping
expresses her distress,” Whatever time of the day I come, crossing road from
Delfinos to the bus stop while going back is a mess. During evenings and nights
its even worse, the high speed of vehicles and the bright beams are almost
blinding and make it difficult for old people like us to cross the road”.
“We are short of
staff, when the staff is assigned other duties, we are unable to place them
everyday to control traffic. Nevertheless, a request has been sent to PWD last
Friday regarding the same and placement of ATC signals are suggested.
Pedestrians can control these signals and they can press the button to stop the
traffic when they want to cross the road. We are surely looking into the matter
and some actions will be taken soon”, said Dy SP Traffic, Porvorim
It’s
becoming both risky and dangerous for common people to cross these roads and
could lead to mishaps if something is not done about it soon.
