Team Herald
PANJIM: Kiosks have been slowly mushrooming at the junction on the busy Betim-Reis Magos road which leads to the tourist villages of Candolim and Siqueirim.
Herald has reported in the past of the illegal kiosk at the dangerous junction, which puts commuters and residents to inconvenience during peak hours. However, currently there are three temporary kiosks on the side of the road and one fast food centre that operate in the evening.
All four structures are situated at the intersection near Canara Bank in Reis Magos and hamper the smooth movement of traffic. Besides, at peak hours, commuters heading to Porvorim from Verem and Betim, and taking a short cut on this road also face hardships.
A number of vehicles take this route to avoid the narrow road at the Betim ferry point and congestion further near Mandovi bridge, whereas traffic from Porvorim uses this short cut to reach Nerul, Verem and Reis Magos.
“It is not only the local residents who are facing the problem due to the kiosks but tourists visiting Candolim, Reis Magos, Sinquerim and Calangute, who choose this route, face hardships to reach their destinations,” said Nilkanth Naik of Verem.
Tourist buses have a difficult task to traverse this stretch as a number of vehicles are parked besides the kiosks as motorists stop to make purchases. Locals have demanded that the kiosks either be demolished or shifted to some other location where they won’t create problems to the traffic movement.
Of the three kiosks, one sells liquor, another is a horticulture shop and a third one is cold drink store. The fast food centre attracts a large number of people at peak hours of the day.
“Besides traffic, there have been a number of accidents here. It becomes very difficult for the police and ambulances to reach the spot in an emergency due to the narrow roads,” said Naresh Salgaonkar, a resident of Nerul.
He said the road is not large enough to cater to the amount of traffic, especially during the season and the illegal kiosks have added to the problem.
In past a local church had also complained to the panchayat of Reis Magos about the illegal kiosk at the junction and the panchayat had sent a show cause notice to the kiosk owner. However, instead of the kiosk being removed, over time the number of kiosks has increased.
Reis Magos Sarpanch Kedar Naik said that the panchayat has not given permission to the kiosks. He termed the kiosks as ‘illegal’. “The panchayat had given them permission for roving carts, but they have installed kiosks. If they are causing any kind of trouble to the public and traffic we will remove it,” he said.
