TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: A local delegation of concerned residents and business owners has approached Governor Mridula Sinha on the congestion and lack of parking in Dona Paula. The petition signed by over 200 residents pointed out that in 1998, the government had acquired and notified an area of approximately 16,000 square meters for parking. But despite the dire need for public parking, this area remains unutilized for this purpose till date.
According to government sources, there is currently no planned provision to provide any public parking in the current infrastructure development works being carried out by GSIDC.
Residents complained that major inconveniences are directly the result of no public parking available for the thousands of cars and buses that flock to the Dona Paula jetty on a daily basis.
“Everyday over a thousand school children negotiate this busy intersection making their way to and from school. This is a major hazard with ongoing construction, parked busses and cars clogging the circle. Many accidents have been the result of this situation,” says Melvin Da Silva, a local nursery school owner.
“I am at times, a prisoner in my own home as cars just block my gate and are gone for sightseeing,” says Brian Pegado.
Dr A G Untawale staying at Sagar Society, arguing that local residents are desperate said: “We have made numerous requests to the authorities, but no one hears us. Senior citizens are afraid to cross the NIO circle due to the chaos there. Haphazard parking of buses and tourist vehicles often reaches the once quiet surrounding neighborhoods.”
Locals point out that heavy expenditure on current infrastructure development is wasted without addressing these basics problems. They say they want basic public facilities like parking; toilets and traffic management are immediately addressed in a permanent way, in the larger interest of the general public and future generations.
“There is filth and litter everywhere due to the lack of any public facilities,” said Sharon Ghosh laments, while Dona Paula Hotelier, Rainer Dias asserts that “We are often times cutoff from everything. All basic services like fire and emergency services, water tankers, CCP garbage collection cannot easily negotiate the congested and closed roads to provide even basic services. It is impossible for our businesses to survive this way.”
