TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARAGO: It’s an architectural marvel. The iconic building rises majestically along the NH-17 in a Portuguese character and has a strong feel of belonging as it is in keeping with the architectural heritage of Goa, says project consultant Rajiv Khanna & Associates Pvt Ltd.
But for the Traffic police and the Margao police too, the shifting of the Collectorate to the new building from Friday means additional work and nightmares for the men-in-uniform from the traffic and security point of view.
Traffic police in the know said the new Collectorate would require them to man two additional points in the city and deploy additional 8-10 traffic personnel to work in shifts. But, the traffic cell is already hit hard with acute manpower shortage and a proposal made to the higher ups to sanction additional personnel has not fructified till date.
Traffic officials said the entire stretch of the route from Ambaji junction to Grace hotel may turn out a bottleneck after the inauguration of the Collectorate building. “Unless, the two points are manned and regulated by traffic personnel, traffic on the NH-17 at the entrance to the city may come to a standstill,” an officer said.
Similarly, Margao police said they will be hard pressed to make available additional personnel to man the Collectorate building. Right now, the Margao police have deployed eight personnel at the building, but officers said they cannot deploy its staff for the building security forever when the PS is already facing a manpower shortage. “The best option would be for the administration to outsource security to a private agency a la Secretariat,” remarked another police official.
