When CCP Mayor Uday Madkaikar, highlighted a watershed moment
way back in June, when he
finally announced organised pay parking to decongest Panjim, the general
response was that of relief, if executed well.
The Mayor had gushed, “Hope this will
decongest the city and encourage people to bring two wheelers instead of four
wheelers to the city.”
So why is a plan set to take off in August
still in a limbo in November? In a lift from Ripley’s ‘Believe it or not’, the
delay, according to the Mayor, is because the Collector’s office has not sent a
corrigendum to the notification, which had published incorrect rates for
parking (see box Mayor says).
The people of Panjim need to know why an incorrect notification
was issued and why is the corrigendum to the notification pending for five
months.
The
Mayor said that nearly 550 tourist taxis are parked in the city every day. Once
the notification is issued, the tenders will be floated to move the taxis to
designated parking lots and “if everything goes smoothly by mid-December, the
initiative will be implemented”.
Even this deadline is sure to be missed, since the notification
has to be issued first, for tenders to be floated for parking lots.
Sanjeev Sardessai, a resident of Panjim
and a man who knows every nook and corner of the city from its historical point
of view, feels that pay parking is much needed not only in Panjim but all major
cities of Goa. “It is 57 years since Goa got liberated and 70 years since
India’s independence when people got freedom but they don’t want to take
responsibility”
“They don’t think
twice about blocking the way. The same drivers will not have the guts to behave
this way in cities like Mumbai and Singapore. There is no discipline on the
road and people should pay for parking. Another question that should be asked
is what is the holding capacity of Panjim?”, Sardessai added.
Residents feel that
other factors add to road congestion. There are many vehicles that park on the
road to supply goods to the shops at 18 June Road. Corner slots of the roads
that are marked for pay parking should be allotted for these goods carriers and
they too should be pay parking with a higher price, is the general opinion of
residents
Founder of Goa ForGiving, Armando
Gonsalves, is a resident of Campal who has travelled across Europe and has
noticed their parking etiquette. He says, “I welcome the move wholeheartedly.
In fact, pay parking should not be only in a few areas but the whole of Panjim.
Otherwise, people can be such misers that they will start parking their cars
near my house and start walking to the market. I haven’t been to 18 June Road
for over 20 years because of the traffic and there must be many more Armandos
who don’t shop there.
Ex CCP Deputy Mayor Kabir Pinto
Makhija says, “In a bid to decongest the city and instil traffic discipline,
CCP is introducing pay parking in Panjim. It is also a move to prevent taxis
and shopkeepers from occupying parking spaces in the city throughout the day.
Public transportation has to be improved in Panjim. Necessary infrastructure
like parking slots, signages, etc should be in place before pay parking is
implemented in Panjim”.
The shopkeepers are happy about the
move as they are the ones most affected with the double and triple parking on
the road. It will help shopkeepers get more customers. But the question is
when.
As months pass by, and it is just a piece of paper ( the
corrigendum) which is holding the implementation of this scheme to ransom and
someone in the local or district administration should be made to pay for each
day of delay.
