With a rare five-day spell of extended holidays, domestic tourists have been flocking to Goa in hordes and the Calangute-Candolim coast seems to have been on every tourist’s must-see list.
The urge to visit the Calangute-Candolim coast has had two immediate consequences: huge traffic jams and booming business.
Aware that frequent traffic jams, if not tackled at various levels, could seriously throw life out of gear in Calangute, local MLA Michael Lobo has made various recommendations to resolve the problem. His friend-turned-rival and Calangute panchayat’s de facto leader Joseph Sequeira has, however, insisted that local bodies should be taken into confidence in matters pertaining to traffic system.
Vehicles from various states across the country have been sighted in and around Calangute and the sudden traffic surge has severely stretched the road network in the area.
The beaches between Baga and Sinquerim have been overcrowded with tourists, leaving virtually no space to park vehicles. While traffic jams have caused considerable hardship to locals, the deployment of police at strategic points along the routes of Calangute has helped ease traffic to a large extent.
The locals may have been inconvenienced by the unusually high turnout of tourists, but the local business community has been rejoicing over soaring business in the past few days. Rent-a-Bike owners have made brisk business by providing two-wheelers for as high as Rs 1,500 (non-geared) and Rs 2,000 (geared bikes) per day.
Hotels and guest houses were booked to good capacity in Calangute and surrounding areas, with rooms being given out for as high as Rs 15,000 per day. Retail and wholesale liquor outlets also made brisk business and many even kept their establishments open despite the Dussehra holiday.
The widened roads leading to Calangute and Baga did little to prevent traffic jams, leading many to suggest other options to regulate traffic during peak tourism season.
“The widening of roads is not the solution to de-congest the roads leading to Calangute and Baga. Entry to tourist vehicles in Calangute should be restricted, otherwise there will be no end to traffic woes either during the peak season or holiday weekends,” said a local involved in a Rent-a-bike business.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo has suggested various remedies to tackle heavy traffic congestion during peak tourism activity in and around Calangute.
“There are no designated parking lots except for two in Baga at Communidade plot and GTDC Plot and at Calangute Football Ground. We need multi-storey parking facilities to take care of at least 400 cars in view of growing number of vehicular traffic from across other states,” said Lobo.
“The widened roads will be made one-way by putting up dividers so that there is smooth of flow of traffic in Calangute. No vehicles would be allowed to park along the roads and violators would be penalised.”
“The Police will be asked to maintain strict implementation of traffic rules and regulations. We have been trying to put in place the required infrastructure and discipline on our beaches, but we are lacking in parking facilities. We cannot restrict the movement of vehicles or else, tourists may not visit Calangute again,” Lobo added.
“I will place my proposal for a multi-storey parking in Calangute through the tourism ministries in Goa and Delhi for urgent consideration,” Lobo said.
On the other hand, Sequeira has insisted that traffic chaos in Calangute would remain the same, as long as the State government does not take local bodies into confidence.
“The State government has been coming out with traffic-related notifications in Calangute without listening to elected representatives of the local body. We are kept in dark over such decisions in Calangute village. Neither the State government nor the Calangute MLA will be able to resolve the issue without the support of local bodies in Calangute Constituency,” said Sequeira.
