The recent video that went viral a few days ago showing a car being driven at night with its rear doors wide open, endangering the lives of the other road users is something that the cops just can’t brush aside. They cannot take shelter under the pretext that they have identified the driver, arrested the offender and filed cases under the IPC. It’s time for serious introspection by the law enforcing agencies. This incidence only goes to prove how seriously the outsiders perceive Goa’s road discipline. It goes a step further to say that our highways and major roads lack policing after daylight hours. The message that goes outside the state is damaging our image. If the Government desires to make Goa a family tourist destination, such madness on our highways should be stopped with an iron hand. It’s thanks to the alert citizen who captured this madness on the mobile and made it viral on the social media that the cops were forced to act. If not, the culprit would have gone home happily without any punishment.
Such a behavior by outsiders can only be seen in a lawless state. Goa is not a lawless state by any counts. And the law enforcing agencies should at no cost allow the state to slide into lawlessness in the name of promoting tourism. A vibrant and bouncing economy through its tourism trade makes no sense if the state has compromised on its laws to achieve its goals. In the past we have witnessed how some indiscipline tourists have driven their SUVs directly onto the beach, endangering the lives of other tourists and visitors. This kind of behavior by the unruly tourists is simply not acceptable. A hospitable Goan may welcome the visitor with warmth and love, but he will never ever compromise on civic discipline and misbehavior. No one who is on a visit to our state however mighty or powerful can take the state laws for granted. Goans are law abiding citizens, we know how to treat our guests with respect and we also expect the same in return. No one can turn our roads and highways and other public places into adventure spots and create a nuisance for the general public. Enough is enough; we will not tolerate this nuisance. Our roads and highways are not places to display one’s heroics and endanger lives of innocent citizens.
The above incident brings to light yet another important factor that despite Goa being a world renowned tourism destination, till now there is no night policing on our highways and the Major District Roads in place. After sunset the policing on our roads comes to an end till after the next sunrise. The successive Governments and Tourism Ministers have failed to address this important aspect of road safety for the locals aswell as the visiting tourists in our state. Goa, one will agree is now a round the year tourist destination and the Government too promotes monsoon tourism in the state. There is nothing called ‘off season’ for the tourism industry in the true sense. Except for the Charter tourists during the monsoon, the domestic tourism season is at its peak. In this given situation there is a dire need to have 24×7 patrolling on our highways and major district roads. In a state where night life is the backbone of the tourism industry and consumption of alcohol is a way of life, drunken driving can never be a myth; it’s in fact a reality. The sooner the Transport department realizes this, the better it is for all concerned. There is a dire need to implement night patrolling and traffic policing on highways and major district roads on a round the clock basis. With the four and six-laning, and widening of other roads, all the highways are now become like racing tracks in the absence of strict and scientific policing.
The scenario on our highways after the daylight hours is frightening with not just the tourist vehicles, but also the local motorists driving at breakneck speed and the chances of driving under the influence of alcohol does exist. In recent months I have seen the traffic police stationed at strategic locations along the north and south district highways, stopping and issuing challans to the traffic offenders for no helmet or no PUC, but, rarely have I seen any cops with an alco-meter in their hands to check suspected drivers for alcohol consumption. Instead of conducting periodic campaign at fixed intervals to detect drunken drivers, it should be a constant exercise. It’s only the fear of the law that can bring in some semblance of discipline on our roads from habitual offenders.
The citizens welcome the progressive step taken by the authorities to implement the AI supported traffic signals in the capital city and its surrounding areas, but, this step needs to be extended to the North and South districts on top priority, if we are to bring in serious discipline on our roads. The implementation of this has to be done in a time bound manner so that the message goes out loud and clear that traffic discipline on Goan highways and roads cannot be taken for granted any more.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in a magnanimous gesture has earmarked Rs 20 crore in the State Budget for the restoration/renovation of the temples destroyed or damaged by the Portuguese during their reign in Goa. Even though there is no record available of such destroyed/damaged temples with the department, he has gone a step further and granted them time to prepare the list.It would be a visionary gesture on the part of our CM if a similar financial package is also earmarked to install AI signaling system all over Goa considering Goa has seeing many fatal road accidents and victims are in the prime of their youth, and children are left orphaned due to road accidents in Goa in recent times. A question that relentlessly hounds my mind is — who will worship the deities in future if Goa loses our youth in their prime and families are wiped off in fatal road accidents across Goa?
It’s time to ponder and get our priorities right.
(The writer is a Vasco-based Konkani author, freelance writer and TV anchor)
