People visiting Ponda town for all their government work find it difficult to make an exit after finishing their work. Locals are now urging the government to find a solution to decongest the town as the visitors park their vehicles haphazardly in the absence of proper parking. This causes chaos and traffic jams in the town as most of the vehicles are parked on the roadside.
The locals have come out with a suggestion to get space in the town. They say that shifting of the Almeida High School, some government offices and Goa Bagayatdar at the outskirt of the town will help in reducing the traffic chaos. Suggestions have also been made to shift some electrical showrooms and banks to Curti or Davlim and also to create a new market complex on the outskirt of the town.
Ponda MLA Ravi Naik said he is taking various measures to solve this problem. “There is a need to have more markets on the outskirts of Ponda to meet the demands of the rising population. The bypass roads should be made one-way. I had proposed the traffic to be diverted from old bus stand to Kapileshwari NH bypass by the Nullah to Margao and Panjim. I am intending to propose an additional market by the road side leading from Varkhandem to Keshav Temple,” said the former chief minister.
The rise in population and increase in the number of vehicles are the main reasons for the traffic chaos. A local said that one family often has two or more vehicles but no place to park. “It is easier to get a flat but it is difficult to get a parking place,” he explained.
Locals blame the government authorities for allowing high rise buildings to come up in the town without parking spaces. This has resulted in the owners parking their vehicles on the road, thereby reducing the breath of the road for smooth passage of vehicles.
This congestion also puts the pedestrians’ life at risk as often the vehicles zoom past without paying attention to those walking. Locals have demanded zebra crossings with strict monitoring by the traffic police. The bus stops should also be notified and those not obeying the rules should be fined, the locals say.
Dilip Naik of Road Safety Forum says the government should think of segregating two and four-wheeler parking. “The no parking, no entry, no right turn should be strictly adhered to and the offenders should be punished. The buses which move at snail pace in order to collect passengers should also be monitored and fined,” said Naik.
Two decades ago, three bypass roads were constructed on the outskirts of the town to divert traffic from using the NH4. Even the KTC Bus stand was built outside the town and the RTO office also shifted to ease the traffic. The chaos, however, continues, especially during peak hours.
The Ponda town has a government Complex Building, Sub-district Hospital, Police Station, many banks, Fire Station office, PWD Buildings, Municipal office, Rajiv Kala Mandir, besides the schools. Locals say that shifting of these will somehow ease the traffic jams in the town.
Besides, the tempo, rickshaw stand, Bagayatdar Bazaar and Commercial Complex and other markets are located in the town. People sometimes find so space to walk in the market because the pathways for visitors are being used by the vendors.
”The Almeida High School, the GVM’s KG and primary school should be shifted to Farmagudi,” says Pramodh Sawanth, People of Ponda, convenor. Hundreds of vehicles come to the town in order to drop students to these schools. If these schools are shifted the congestion will be less,” he adds.
