PANJIM: A day after the State government decided to deploy two platoons of the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) to decongest the traffic jams at Cortalim and Agassaim, Congress on Saturday urged the Chief Secretary to stop conducting checks and issuing challans to vehicles violating the law, on either side of the Zuari bridge to avoid congestion.
In a letter to Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Girsih Chodankar warned that if the traffic situation does not come under control by August 25, the party will once again take to the streets as a mark of protest.
“During recent times it has been noticed that people get stranded for almost two to three hours along the junctions which is totally intolerable and unacceptable. Students are missing classes, office goers are reaching late, and poor people who get appointments at GMC after a long waiting period have to go back from Cortalim without reaching GMC. Ambulances carrying emergency patients, especially pregnant women, are craving for timely medical attention, and people are missing flights on their way to airport. This has become a daily affair with an insensitive government at the helm of affairs,” Chodankar said.
In a series of suggestions, the party has demanded to stop issuing challans to vehicles on either side of Zuari bridge, to deploy more police/traffic personnel, to discipline the traffic and lane driving, to repair potholes on both sides and to introduce ferry services to decongest the bridge and approach roads.
“We strongly demand with you to immediately put interlocking pavers in place of potholes since hot mixing or cold tar or concrete will get washed away within six to eight days. We also request you to install a pontoon bailey bridge across Zuari River since construction of this bridge will need at least another year and meanwhile people should not suffer (temporary bridge in case the congestion is uncontrollable),” Chodankar said.
