CALANGUTE: Domestic tourists flocked to the villages of Calangute and Candolim during the Diwali vacation, creating havoc for the locals as well as tourists. Travelling from Calangute market to Calangute or Baga beach was taxing for motorists, especially four-wheelers. There were dust and bottlenecks on virtually every road.
The few policemen on duty could do little to either control the movement of traffic or prevent traffic jams. Due to lack of parking spaces, and in the absence of police or guides, people parked their vehicles haphazardly along the roads to Calangute beach, and even at the beach parking lot, hindering traffic even further. The other parking lot at the Calangute Association football ground was also short of space and witnessed similar problems. The hotels and restaurants near the beach were empty or did no business despite the rush of tourists.
“The mad rush of tourists created chaos in the parking area at Calangute beach and inconvenienced the locals as well as tourists. A few tourists also cut short their holiday due to traffic jams as they could not move out of their hotels for sightseeing. The absence of traffic police also compounded matters. This has to be addressed before the start of the tourist season,” said Calangute social worker Filipe Dias.
Viren, a tourist from Mumbai said, “We came to see the world famous Calangute beach, and for the first time, it was a terrible experience for us. We had to spend almost two hours in our hired taxi while travelling to our hotel room in Calangute from the Calangute church. We were told it was just a 10 minute journey by car. Thereafter, we tried to go sightseeing in Baga, Vagator and other beaches, but travelling was a headache. We regret coming to Calangute and spending hours on travel alone. We hope the authorities will do something to improve the movement of traffic, or else tourism will be doomed in Calangute.”
Admitting to the traffic woes, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said, “We intend to open two more parking spaces in Calangute and in the villages of Candolim and Arpora, besides a GTDC parking lot at Baga. We will take possession of private land for three months to take care of traffic woes in the coastal villages of Calangute.”
