U-turn junction at Ambaji unsafe: experts

TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.com

MARGAO: Will the district collectorate officials at least now not stand on false prestige and open the northern side of the Collectorate for entry of vehicles into the complex, with experts terming the U-turn junction at Ambaji “unsafe”.

From day one, district Collector N D Agrawal had consistently refused to open the Ambaji side gate for entry into the administrative complex. Umpteen pleas by citizens, including elected representatives and traffic officials, to alter the traffic pattern in and around the new Collectorate complex had fallen on deaf ears with Agrawal refusing to make any changes.

But, a panel of officials drawn from the Town Planning, PWD, Transport and Traffic has now come clear, suggesting to the district administration that the entry into the Collectorate should be from the Ambaji side and the exit from the existing concrete road. 

The suggestion was made after the Committee observed that vehicles entering the Collectorate from Margao have to take U-Turn at the Ambaji road junction before entering the Collectorate via the concrete road in between the Collectorate and the commercial complex. 

“The U-Turn at the Ambaji road junction is unsafe as it interferes with the speeding traffic on the highway, which also comes in the way of traffic coming from Ambaji road. More ever, after entering the complex through the gate as per the present arrangement, one has to take a sharp turn to reach the parking lot or the entrance porch”, the panel observed.

Besides, the Panel has suggested improvement of the Ambaji road junction as a T-Junction once the PWD acquires the land from Ambaji road junction towards Nuvem for widening of the road.

The panel has gone a step further by suggesting that both the entry and exit to the Collectorate can be considered from the Ambaji road side.

Incidentally, while Agrawal was stead fast in his opposition to any plan to open the Ambaji road side for entry citing security check up, the panel has suggested that the security check for entry into the Collectorate, if needs to be implemented, can be done within the complex after the vehicles enter the gate so as to avoid any queuing up on the main road.

Incidentally, while the panel comprising of a senior town planner, DySP traffic, Assistant Engineer, PWD< (NH), PI traffic and Assist Director of Transport, had submitted its report to the district administration over a month ago, the ground reality vis-a-vis the entry and exit to and from the Collectorate remains unchanged. Collector Agrawal was not available for comment.