Team Herald
VASCO: As 2020 draws to a close, traffic congestion and jams have come to haunt commuters along the Verna-Agassaim stretch, especially at peak hours, where delays and slow-moving traffic have now become common.
In the last two weeks, people have been posting pictures of traffic jams and even complaining about the slow movement of traffic along the stretch just as in the previous year.
Social activist from Vasco, Preetam Queloscar said, “I feel people in a single queue will reach their destination in quick time. People, especially tourist taxis tend to use multiple lanes to reach their destination faster and on reaching the Zuari Bridge they face a bottleneck which further leads to traffic congestion.”
The situation is such that people are being forced to leave from their point of origin early so as to reach their destination on time.
Queloscar added, “If people want to reach their destination early then they should leave their homes one or half-an-hour in advance. The traffic police should avoid stopping vehicles for imposing fines at the sharp turn near Agassaim Police Station. This is one of the reasons for traffic jams besides accidents and other traffic-related issues.”
Traffic Police, however, are urging motorists to be more patient and avoid travelling during peak hours. DySP Traffic North Goa, Salim Sheikh exuded confidence that the traffic jams will be resolved once the new Zuari Bridge is thrown open to the public. This means that people will suffer delays for another year at the very least, considering that the new deadline for the completion of the bridge is end 2021.
On Monday, as traffic crawled, Vasco Traffic Cell PI Sudesh Narvekar said there was a minor accident near the bridge on the Agassaim side and therefore there was a slow movement of traffic along Agassaim-Zuari Bridge stretch.
When questioned what steps have been taken to resolve the traffic congestion, Narvekar said they have deputed traffic policemen at various locations to facilitate the traffic. “In case of vehicle breakdown or accidents, we also have towing vehicles near the bridge,” he said.
Traffic policemen also said that drivers’ impatience is causing delays. “People try to overtake from the wrong side. Impatient driving, are among the difficulties we face on a daily basis. We request motorists to drive safely, follow traffic rules and cooperate with us to avoid traffic congestion on roads for hours,” a traffic policeman on the ground told Herald.
DySP Traffic Margao, Prabodh Shirvoikar said that additional traffic policemen have been deputed at the Cortalim junction till the Verna slope to avoid traffic congestion.
Work to install the wings for the bridge on the Cortalim side has been completed. So along the Cortalim stretch there is no traffic congestion at night.
DySP Traffic North Goa, Salim Sheikh said, “The new bridge work is at an advanced stage, some crucial work of segment fixing, etc, is in progress along the Agassaim stretch. The traffic coming from North Goa after reaching Cortalim junction is diverted to Vasco, Margao, Ponda, etc, whereas the traffic from South Goa has to pass through the busy Agassaim stretch where the work is underway.”
“Once the new parallel bridge is made operational then there won’t be any traffic congestion. People need to be patient for some time. We have deputed traffic policemen there round-the-clock. People should follow traffic rules and maintain their speed too as the bridge work is in progress and the traffic is moving in single lane,” Sheikh said.
He added, “People should avoid travelling during peak hours and they should be more patient while driving. If these things are followed then there won’t be traffic congestion and jams.”
Agreeing with this, Kiran Naik, a resident of Vasco said, “People should follow traffic rules strictly and avoid negligent driving. I feel that people should use more public transport which will reduce pollution.”
