An accident is reported
in the media every other day
without fail. It could result in injuries or death. There is a school of
thought that believes the general standard of driving varies from the descent
to the atrocious. Coupled with the poor road sense it can be extremely
dangerous driving or riding on the roads of Goa. To make matters worse, traffic
signals are not working at various points and are not at places where there is
a possibility of a crowd, like in front of a shopping mall.
Anuj Kadam, a young executive at a company
in Mapusa said it was always a bit of a problem when he visited the mall in
Porvorim because of the traffic on the road. He said “Cars are speeding by and
people are trying to cross the road. Traffic lights would certainly help in
such a location. It is also important to have zebra markings to help
pedestrians cross. It is all a bit chaotic on the road”.
Another regular traveler on the roads of Goa is Anishka, a
resident of Betim who felt it was time there was better discipline on the roads
of the state. She said” Betim is a small place and even then I strongly believe
we need traffic lights there. This is not to say there are accidents happening regularly
which is not the case. The lights will bring discipline on the roads and in
fact save lives.”
Brendon D Souza who is currently in charge of the traffic cell
in Panjim said the traffic lights in various places in Panjim were not working
because the lines had been cut. They were now he said under the Smart City
program. He said “Cameras will be installed all over and they will be linked to
Information Technology. Everything will be monitored. We have recently
installed traffic lights near Caculo Mall and cameras will also be installed.
We are waiting for the hot mixing to be complete. Everything will then fall
into place. I can safely say that within the next two months, the system will
be in place and the situation will improve.”
Jose Fernandes, a college student in the south hoped traffic
lights would be installed and importantly people follow them instead of just
jumping in which happened all over the state according to him.
The
situation on the roads of Goa requires everyone to follow the rules. This will
make the roads safer.
