Mapusa used to be a quaint market town. Sadly, today it is a shambles. There are many reasons for this, including uncontrolled migration has increased its population manifold and the city systems have just buckled under tremendous pressure and are unable to cope. What is most irritating is that these annoyances keep increasing on a daily basis.
First there is the tainted JAICA project, which is still incomplete and has ruined the city roads.
Then there is uncontrolled and unregulated traffic, which annoys the pedestrian and motorist alike. And then, of course there is the ‘traditional’ and perennial nuisance of stray cattle. To add to all these, the latest nuisance is a ‘speed breaker’ which has been illegally and without authorization been erected near the Mapusa Church on St Jerome’s Street.
Incidentally, there was a pipe there, which was loosely fitted on an expansion joint in the pre-liberation concrete road. Now to protect that pipe, someone has built a concrete mound over it. This has appeared suddenly and is illegal, and does not follow any norms of the PWD. This concrete mound is dangerous especially to two-wheeler riders, as it is steep and gives a jerk to riders, besides increasing the risk of accidents.
