FOR 6 HOURS, GOA CHOKED ON THE ZUARI

PANJIM: A massive traffic jam that ensued after a KTC bus broke down on the Zuari bridge forced a traffic blockade between north and south Goa resulting in a five hour wait for people waiting to cross, either to go to either south or north Goa

The bus was travelling from Margao to Panjim when its front tyre was punctured after it ran over some glass pieces, that were lying on the bridge, the result of an accident that occurred earlier in the day. 

A Wagon R met with an accident and this was cleared away. But the glass pieces remained. After that the  bus went over the pieces resulting in one of its tyres getting punctured, the police on site said. 

“The front tyre got a puncture. Another bus was immediately summoned for the passengers at the site and the punctured bus was towed away,” KTC Chairman Carlos Almeida told Herald. 

However, according to some people who got stuck, the replacement bus took almost an hour trying to get through the traffic which had accumulated on both sides, choking the bridge and the exit points 

 Impatient and indisciplined drivers made matters worse by overtaking and blocking the lanes for traffic from the other side, leading to greater chaos. 

Finally traffic police from Vasco, Panjim, Margao were deployed to control the traffic and make an alternate route to get another vehicle to be towed away, Superintendent of Police  (traffic) Arvind Gawas told Herald adding that 30-40 policemen struggled in the heavy rain to control the increasingly impatient commuters stuck there for hours.

After the bus was towed away, police struggled to control the unruly crowd. However, at the fag end another accident where three cars banged into each other was the icing on this not so delicious cake of the five-hour-long saga. 

People missed appointments, and connecting trains. At least 10 flights were delayed as planes waited for their passengers. Travellers were caught at the airport for lack of taxis – essentially time stood still as authorities struggled with a losing battle to maintain some discipline and clear the massive traffic jam that clogged both sides of the bridge underscoring the importance of the link and the need for a new bridge to replace the ageing out of time crumbling Zuari bridge. (See page 2 for a report on what commuters went through)

 Zuari bridge: No more guarantees- The Zuari bridge, the only link between north and south on this route, was constructed in 1983. But in April 1997, it was closed to heavy traffic. It was rehabilitated in 1999 at a cost of Rs 5 crore after cracks and stress noticed. At that time a 15-year lease of life was given to it. The guarantee ended in March 2014.

There were no options for traffic and if anything happens on or to the bridge, it will be back to ferries for commuters

The already weakened bridge had to also endure the dead weight of so many vehicles parked on the already weak bridge for so many hours.   

As the state government pushes forward with its development programme across the state including spending 72 crores on a concrete road from Miramar to Dona Paula and some more crores on subsidies to all and sundry, the government is only giving assurances that this bridge will be constructed while the prime minister inaugurates other bridges and other projects, in a perverse way, underlining the priority that the government gives to this bridge.

And every time there is a breakdown on the bridge, cold reality hits one on the face.

Government’s have changed, chief ministers have finished their tenures or had theirs cut short drastically by coups, parties heading government have been thrown out, but the promises remain the same and till date the work on a new Zuari bridge remains the same notwithstanding the promises of the concerned minister that the bridge is still safe and a new bridge is coming up.