One of the prime reasons for the traffic congestion on the roads in Goa as well as parking woes that the general public faces every single day, is the increase of the vehicle population in the state. It is understood that Goa reportedly has the distinction of having two vehicles for every three persons.
There are reportedly 10.5 lakh vehicles for a population of 14.5 lakh. It is understood that there has been a 74% increase in registrations since 2007. If the trend continues, in a few years’ time there will be a vehicle for every Goan. If such a scenario becomes a reality then the situation on our roads is best left to one’s imagination.
It must be said that if there is an increase in the vehicle population then obviously the road infrastructure also needs to improve. Over the years even when there has been an exponential rise in the increase of vehicles on the roads, many of the roads which were built during the Portuguese regime are the same. However it must be said that in the past one year the state government has built some roads, specially at Old Goa, in connection with the exposition of the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier and some more are in the process of being built. And of course there is the Goa University road which has been broadened. But much more need to be done.
Cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and other metropolitan cities have also seen a tremendous increase in the vehicle population. These cities have to some extent coped up with the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads by building flyovers. One does not see such flyovers in Goa. In cities like Mumbai the train service connects various parts of the city. This gives the travelling public the option to travel by train. In Goa there is no train service connecting the main cities. Hence the travelling public is forced to use their own vehicles. This leads to an increase in the number of vehicles on the roads.
Bengaluru has recently started the Metro Rail service. This gives the commuters the option to travel by the Metro. Goa needs to develop the road infrastructure by building flyovers and even start a Metro Rail service to cope with the increasing vehicles on the roads. It is pertinent to note that the Sky Bus project was a non-starter and was abandoned. The government could also explore the possibility of using the waterways for transportation as there are several rivers crisscrossing the land. If we do not take concrete measure to decongest our roads by building flyovers and even starting a Metro service we will see cars moving bumper-to-bumper on our roads five years from now. The government also needs to keep a tab on the ever increasing vehicle population. It is obviously not possible to stop someone from buying a new car. It is best left to the wisdom of the Goans to restrict the number of cars to one per family.
