Team Herald
CALANGUTE: Calangute traffic cell PI Sachin Narvekar has assured that there will be no traffic problems during the peak season of Christmas-New Year.
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Talking to media after Calangute Congress block committee members on Saturday handed over a memorandum about the traffic congestion and hardship faced by commuters in Calangute due to oversized buses and tourist vehicles entering in the village during peak tourism season, PI Narvekar said they have written to the deputy collector for permission to stop the tourist buses on the outskirts. “As soon as we get the approval, we will stop the buses,” he said.
Highlighting the various traffic issues, the Congress workers pointed out that there are constant traffic jams in the Calangute coastal belt, largely due to the bad roads and double parking by tourists vehicles and large tourist buses entering the narrow village roads and blocking traffic.
PI Narvekar said the traffic cell police needs more personnel as besides Calangute, they also have to monitor Candolim, Arpora, Saligao and Sangolda. “We have 32 staff, but we need at least 40. I have written to the higher authorities, but the matter is pending,” he said.
He said with less staff it is a problem to look after every trouble spot. “There are a 100 troubled spots. Because of the St Francis Xavier Exposition and IFFI some of our staff have been deployed there. But for the Christmas-New Year, we’re getting staff from Mapusa and other stations, so there should not be any problems,” he said, adding, “Whatever staff we have we deploy. During peak season we will have three shifts. If roads are blocked, we will make them one-way.”
The Congress workers also asked the traffic police to discontinue the clamping of vehicles as that results in traffic jams. “Because of the traffic congestion in Calangute, a lot of tourists are avoiding the coastal belt,” they said.
Congress workers also called for a rethink on the decision to discontinue parking of large tourist buses in the fields in front of Calangute church.
“If the old parking spot in the fields is blocked, then where will the large tourist buses park? There has to be some understanding of the situation before this was done,” they said.
PI Narvekar said the Calangute panchayat has made similar parking arrangements at Bhodkovodd on the Nagoa road.
Calangute Block congress committee president Lourenco Silveira, Goa Pradesh Youth Congress vice-president Vivek D’Silva and others were present.
