Goa is a state that is prosperous but where regulations are not being implemented strictly. Environmental norms are being flouted and guidelines are not being enforced. A look at our narrow streets tells us the tale of parking woes and traffic congestion. To add to the number of vehicles increasing on the roads is the easy availability of loans to buy new vehicles that the banks are ever willing to finance.
The added incentive in Goa is the cheap petrol which has been exempted from VAT. To add to this unchecked consumption of petrol and diesel is the now low price of fuel since it has been deregulated. Another factor is the now famous rhetoric of increasing growth to boost the economy. But the dangers of this unregulated transportation system is fast leading to chaos on the streets as well as heightened pollution of the air due to the noxious emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide and particulate matter that is taking its toll on the health.
It is not merely the congestion that can be controlled, but traffic snarls decreased and a better environment can be achieved if regulators strictly enforce rules. For example, knowing that our cities’ roads are narrow and the huge increase in vehicular numbers is leading to congestion, it would be prudent to enforce a norm in which vehicles with odd and even numbers are being allowed to ply on the roads on alternate days so as to decrease the traffic congestion as well as decrease the emissions of gases and particulate matter that is causing respiratory diseases and leading to a decrease in the quality of life.
Selective exemptions can be made that are non-discriminatory such as allowing vehicles that are on mercy missions or essential services. Public transportation can cater to the needs of the commuters. The degree of pollution that is rampant can be felt if one stays behind the exhaust pipe of a vehicle. The amount of hot emissions is the cause of not only pollution but also heating of the environment leading to warming of the atmosphere. The way traffic congestion is being felt on Goan roads, in a few years from now if unregulated will lead to situations wherein traffic will be at a standstill for minutes.
