Team Herald
PANJIM: The lifting of COVID restrictions in Goa and other States has witnessed a surge in the arrival of domestic tourists in the State.
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In Panjim, the reopening of casinos since September 20 has led to an exceptional rise in the number of vehicles plying on the roads.
The difficulties in finding a parking space and the frequent traffic jams have left the residents and office-goers frustrated.
Completed in 2016, the much hyped multi-storey pay-parking facility which was supposed to accommodate 465 cars on its three floors, terrace and open space on the ground floor, has failed to serve its very purpose.
What has left locals incensed is that a large number of garbage bins and trolleys are occupying a massive space in this building which should have been used to park vehicles.
The onus of the pay parking facility lies on the Goa Tourist Development Corporation (GTDC). The waste equipment left at the facility is of the beach cleaning agency Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Corporation Pvt Ltd (KCIC) contracted by the Tourism Department.
GTDC had been struggling for years to complete its tendering process for a company to come and manage the facility. These delays were on account of various technical reasons including the COVID pandemic but they were attributed to the reason that the facility was not put to optimum use. However, GTDC has recently appointed an agency that will operate the car parking facility and also develop the Santa Monica jetty area for tourists; given the rush for cruise boat trips in River Mandovi as well.
Workers at the pay parking facility said they do have vehicles parked at the facility.
Traffic along the road in front of the Santa Monica jetty has not reduced and the city’s internal roads too are witnessing increasing number of vehicles.
“What is the use of this massive parking project? This should have been the top priority for the authorities who are involved in the blame game,” said Rupesh Padgaonkar, a local resident.
It may be recalled that Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserrate had publicly blamed the traffic police for not solving the traffic issues.
“The stretch outside the Captain of Ports office is occupied by vehicles of tourists and casino staff. The existing pay parking facility in Panjim is not put to optimum use. It is utter chaos out there. Those in power lack the political will and spine to sort out the traffic issue and ensure the wellbeing of the residents,” said Panjim councillor Joel Andrade.
At present, the residents are yet again facing difficulty in finding a parking space in front or in close vicinity of their residences. Haphazard parking of vehicles by tourists and casino staff has resulted in filing of several complaints in the past couple of weeks.
“The problems are so bad at night that these vehicles, especially two-wheelers block the entry and exit points of our internal roads. Forget finding a parking space, we are having a tough time in reaching our residences as the access is blocked,” complained a resident of the Latin Quarter in Panjim.
Traffic police officials said they make their rounds even late night and fine those violating the rules and pick up vehicles parked haphazardly. The pay parking wardens too man the roads past midnight.
Locals questioned what happened to the passes they were promised by the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), which would have alleviated their woes.
Deputy Mayor Vasant Aghiskar said the residents will get the passes soon.
It may be recalled that at CCP’s ordinary meeting in August, Mayor Rohit Monserrate had announced that CCP will survey the residences which will benefit from the scheme where one pass will be issued to each family.
“We will be getting the list from the residents next week. The first process (of sorting the passes) will be completed early November,” Agshikar said.
He clarified that contrary to public perception, the garbage bins blocking space at the parking facility do not belong to CCP.
