PANJIM/VASCO: Traffic Cell of Goa Police has written to the Public Works Department (PWD) to reduce the road closure timings between Cortalim and Verna Titan junction by two hours in the morning.
Police have requested for the reduction in the timing from the current 11 pm to 7 am to 11 pm to 5 am inorder to avoid any motor vehicles accident as schools have resumed and there is traffic flow of school buses during the morning hours.
Speaking to Herald, DySP Traffic, Dharmesh Angle said that the department has written to the PWD as it is the authority which had issued the notification for the closure of the road. “Since most of the school buses begin their movement much before 7 and there is school traffic on the internal roads, we requested that the closure timings be reduced from 7 am to 5 am.”
He further said that the department has also requested that all the bridge construction activities which include movement of the spans of the flyovers should also be undertaken during the night hours.
“Since the roads will be closed during the night hours, we have asked them to carry out the transportation of the spans and all the activities of the construction on the stretch to be carried out between 11 in the night until morning during the road closure period so that all possibilities of any untoward incident is avoided”, he added.
Speaking about the diversion on the first day, Police Inspector Suraj Samant from the Vasco Traffic cell, said the wide publicity and awareness ensured that traffic moved smoothly. Stating that there is not much traffic on the road at night, he informed that police teams had been deployed at the Verna Titan junction and the Cortalim junction. He added that large signboards were also stationed at these points, which had the information written in English, Hindi and in Konkani to help all the commuters understand that the road will be closed.
However, there was some amount of traffic that was not aware about the diversion and the traffic police stationed at both the junctions gave them the necessary directions.
Some locals residing in the interior locality of the Thana, Verna were asked to take up Coratlim ferry point and then to Thana road.
Locals residing on the Chicalim-Sancoale-Verna side complained about the non functioning streetlights resulting in poor illumination. Further, they questioned why there were no signboards along the highway and internal roads to help guide the commuters. PWD minister Deepak Pauskar had earlier promised that this will be done and has now said that he will remind the contractors to look into the necessary measures for the safety of the commuters.
