With coal pollution headlining the affairs in Vasco, traffic congestion too has been raising its ugly head in the port town at an alarming speed. For Vascoites, traffic congestion has turned out to be a major hazard on lines with coal pollution and if authorities fail to gear up and find some solution then by 2020 Vasco will emerge as the most congested town in state and this in turn may lead to negative impact on commercial activities.
“After coal dust pollution and its impact on human health and the environment, I feel the next biggest problem facing Vasco is traffic congestion and parking. The town is unable to cope with increase in number of vehicles. Coal transportation also adds to the problem. Then there is indiscipline among drivers, haphazard parking and “encroachments” on prime parking slots by tourist taxis,” claimed Vasco-based activist Adv Savio Correia
Like Correia, many other concerned residents too feel that the traffic management has been in a mess in Vasco and this is the second biggest problem faced by the residents after coal pollution.
“Earlier, PI Dharmesh Angle had brought in traffic discipline on Vasco roads. Following his transfer, PI Sudesh Narvekar continued with it. The question that has remained unanswered is – do we have traffic PI in Vasco? If yes then where is he? The task of managing the town traffic has been left with the police constables and Home Guards. Merely issuing challans will not solve the problem,” said a renowned writer and author from Vasco, who wished to remain anonymous.
“Triple pillion riding, overspeeding by youth paying no concern to pedestrians at the zebra crossings has become order of the day and if things are not resolved then situation will turn worse,” he warned.
To overcome the traffic congestion in the town, Vascoites feel that there should be total ban on heavy vehicles from entering the town during the day. Similarly, they also suggest that the internal cross-roads closer to the town should be notified as “walk-only” with fees for car parking along the other arterial roads. Also non-availability of parking space for vehicles has become a huge problem in Vasco and indiscipline in parking of vehicles has only compounded the problem. Currently, one can observe four-wheelers parked in places designated for two-wheelers and vice-versa.
“Basically, the idea is to discourage people from bringing their four-wheelers into the town. It may sound repulsive at first, but I feel this option may have to be considered in the long term. Having a multi-storey paid car parking facility at the land allotted to Dev Damodar Trust, which is due to be reverted back to MMC, may reduce the parking woes of the town,” Adv Correia opined.
Vasco RTO office data reveals that on an average around 500 new vehicles hit the road each month but at the same time the traffic management in the town is missing with the civic body moving at a snail’s pace on the much needed traffic master plan for the town.
Traffic congestion is not only restricted to the town, the entry points such as via (NH-17A) from Chicalim to St Andrew’s Junction and via Mangor Hill from NH17 B road are perennially choked with traffic throughout the day.
“Currently coming down or moving out from Vasco during peak hours is nothing less than a vicious circle. The road from Chicalim to Vasco and Mangor to Vasco meets at Church Square and if you are driving a four-wheeler then it takes nothing less than 30 minutes to move out of the Church Square,” said Pramod Amonkar, a Vasco-based social worker.
Whether the state administration and local municipal body would take this issue of traffic congestion seriously or not only time would tell. For the citizens, commuting in Vasco has turned out to be a nightmare.
