TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The commercial capital witnessed a big rush of Christmas shoppers, throwing vehicular traffic out of gear.
Huge serpentine queues of vehicles were witnessed on all major roads in the city, creating traffic jams with shoppers from Salcete heading to Margao for Christmas shopping.
With just two days left for the Christmas festival, traders as well as traffic authorities are bracing up for a rush of people and vehicles in the city from Tuesday morning.
The New Market wore a congested look on Monday with every inch of space in and around the market occupied by customers from far and wide. Traffic snarls were literally the order of the day in the New Market and Gandhi market areas throughout Monday.
What added to the congestion are the traffic personnel, especially the inexperienced Home Guards, manning the city’s busy traffic points. Having been found wanting in regulating traffic, the traffic authorities have been requested to deploy traffic cops at the busy locations to ease congestion during peak hours.
A senior traffic officer conceded that the inexperienced Home Guards were found wanting in the regulation of traffic, but hastened to add that things will fall in place in the next two days.
Traffic personnel attached to the Margao traffic cell were on Saturday requisitioned for duties at Old Goa for the ongoing Exposition. “Things should fall in place in the next two days as we expect huge turn out of last-minute shoppers for the Christmas,” remarked a senior traffic officer.
