MARGAO: There seems to be no end to travellers’ woes as yet another traffic jam was reported around the Cortalim junction on Tuesday, with the Agasaim stretch of the highway witnessing the most congestion.
These traffic jams, which have been a continuous problem for commuters since last week, have left citizens and tourists upset as they have been stuck for hours on the national highway. Some even missed their flights and weddings.
What has irked this section of the public is that they had to endure such a harrowing experience despite the new Zuari Bridge being ready but not thrown open to the public. The government is waiting for the official inauguration which is scheduled for Thursday.
Given that the Chief Minister has urged the public to walk on the new bridge and take selfies, those who have been stuck in traffic have questioned the logic behind such a move as the rush to visit the bridge has only caused more traffic congestion on the Margao/Vasco to Panjim highway. Many took selfies of their vehicles getting stuck in the traffic jam and criticised the government for ignoring their plight even though there have been similar traffic jams during the festive season on the highway.
“If the bridge was ready, why is it being closed? Can’t the government see people stuck on the road for hours? On the other side, those who are visiting the new bridge are parking their vehicles on the side of the road, which is causing more traffic issues,” complained Punit Naik, a businessman from Margao.
“Today we were stuck in traffic on the Goa Velha-Agasaim route in the morning. Usually, you have these traffic problems in the evenings. I was late to work and the old route to Cortalim via Pilar was also blocked. What kind of traffic management is this?” questioned Angela Gonsalves from Panjim, who works in the hospitality industry.
Traffic police officials however said that they had streamlined the traffic arrangements and that later in the day the traffic was moving faster than earlier days.
There were minor incidents of vehicles bumping into each other as well wherein the occupants left the cars and got into arguments with each other on the damage caused to their vehicles.
