The Goa Government woke up very late on the traffic jams on Margao-Panjim route, though the situation has been bad for well over a month and worsened only in the last few weeks. But our authorities were blind to it. With some of the ministers sick, they are also making us sick and sick of this Government the way it is functioning. The main culprits: the PWD and the Police – the first for not keeping roads in good shape and not finding alternate ways to divert traffic and the latter for its habitual inefficiency in enforcing the law, especially the single laning, which was never maintained. Disciplined drivers are the worst sufferers. The PWD has always been a well of corruption and hence is the most sought after portfolio by the likes of Dhavalikar and Churchill. To be fair to them, roads in Goa had generally been in good shape, but have now given way perhaps because the work standards are inversely proportional to corruption. Roads get damaged, where vehicles slow down and hence it is strange that it never occurred to PWD to strengthen the roads with concrete, as is proposed now at Cortalim/Agassaim, at junctions and round-abouts. After all if roads are not resurfaced again and again, where will the cuts come from?
The present DGP, Dr Muktesh Chander, who received much publicity, after coming to Goa, for his good work on traffic in Delhi, was expected to be tough with indisciplined drivers in Goa, particularly because of the spectacular rise in deaths in road accidents. The undersigned approached him more than once to visit Margao and deal with the unruly traffic. Suggestions made to him and earlier to ex-IGP Sunil Garg that two traffic policemen move on a bike regularly in our cities, to regulate and ease traffic and fine violators were never implemented, though agreed to by both.
Dr Chander derives consolation that traffic now is “more disciplined”, but the public in general find that deaths on the roads continue, accidents are on the rise, though many go unreported, traffic jams everywhere are common occurrence and reckless driving, speeding and hazardous overtaking are there for everyone to see, except to the traffic cop. Will the DGP tell us how many people have been fined for overspeeding and reckless driving? The Traffic Police is bent on feeding us that most accidents in Goa are caused by drunken driving, claiming that hundreds were caught in inebriated state in a recent drive.
Frankly, I am not inclined to believe this contention for the simple reasons that the drive was announced.My purpose here is not to criticise but to ensure that the authorities act in time and avoid inconvenience to public, who pay for their salaries.
