MARGAO: Taking cognisance of O Heraldo campaign ‘Throttled by Traffic’ highlighting the traffic congestion witnessed during school hours in the State’s commercial capital of Margao, the traffic police including a senior traffic officer are likely to meet South Goa Collector Asvin Chandru, on Monday, June 17, to discuss and put in place mechanism to keep a check on the growing traffic congestion in the town.
Margao traffic cell sources stated that senior police officers and other staff will meet the South Goa Collector on June 17.
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Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Rahul Gupta has directed South Goa DySP (Traffic) Prabodh Shirvoikar to meet South Goa Collector with regards to the traffic congestion connection with the issue. He will be accompanied by Margao Traffic Cell PI Sanjay Dalvi.
Sources said that the Traffic Cell officers will meet Collector with a suggestion to convene a meeting of principals of the schools of Margao and PTA officials to discuss the issue in detail.
It is pertinent to note that there are five schools in the heart of Margao besides two higher secondary schools and two colleges. The Margao Traffic Cell intends to solve the major issue of traffic congestion at this meeting.
The venue and the date for the above meeting will be fixed as per the requirement, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Margao Traffic Cell is facing a staff crunch with only 65 staff to man the traffic in Margao besides home guards. The traffic cell caters to the needs of 25 Margao Municipal Council wards besides Navelim and other places.
Considering the rise in vehicular population and in the population, traffic cell staff allotted to manage the traffic in Margao appears to be far less, said a retired head constable of Traffic Cell.
The reopening of educational institutions has led to traffic congestion in the town, which has inconvenienced the students and other commuters visiting the town.
Despite efforts from the Margao Traffic Cell, the situation appears to have gone out of control, with some parents and others displaying total ‘disregard’ to the traffic rules and exacerbating the chaos.
The traffic congestion issue has plagued government authorities for years, which needs urgent attention.
The congestion near the Margao Police Station , where five schools including Fatima Convent High School and Loyola High School are located, had reached such a critical point that even pedestrians struggled to navigate the streets. Sometimes parents and others, who come to pick up children, add to the chaos as many are noticed in parking their vehicles in a haphazard manner at any available places without considering the inconvenience posed to the commuters.
Few years ago, there was a proposal to shift or relocate petrol pumps situated in the heart of town to ease traffic congestion but no decision was taken.
“There are metrics of vehicular flow. During a certain peak hour, if more vehicles enter a narrow stretch, the average speed would come down, causing constriction. The issue is there should be school buses rather than every parent picking and dropping his/her ward,” DGP Goa Jaspal Singh, IPS, posted on ‘X’.
