TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The police and the RTO turn a blind eye as bus operators drop and pick-up passengers right on the NH-17 outside the Cuncolim bus stand, virtually laying a death trap for motorists and pedestrians.
The absence of the RTO and the police to force the buses enter the bus-stand for alighting and to pick up passengers is all the more surprising given the numerous complaints lodged with the authorities by the citizens and local NGOs.
That the NH-17 is narrow near the bus stand has not spurred the police and the RTO to descend at the spot and crack a whip against the violators.
When Herald contacted, Assistant Transport Director Sandeep Desai, who is a native of Cuncolim, to find out why the RTO has turned a blind eye to the rampant traffic violations by the bus operators, he promised to send a RTO team to Cuncolim from Thursday. “Today, members of an NGO approached my office and submitted a memorandum demanding action against the erring bus operators,” he said, adding that his team of officers will descend at the bus stand on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the Green Goa Foundation has given seven days time to the district Collector, RTO and police to regulate traffic on the NH-17 outside the bus stand or has threatened to knock the doors of the high court with a complaint against these authorities for negligence of duty.
