Panjim came to a grinding halt at key junctions on Wednesday due to a major traffic jam. Commuters were forced to sit indolently in gridlocks for hours as traffic moved at a snail’s pace. The cause of the traffic is suspected to be the unplanned closure of AtalSetu and the government rushed efforts to fix all of Panjim’s roads all at once ahead of the G20 summit.
Commuters were stuck for hours in the traffic leaving them frustrated and late for work. Several ambulances were also stuck in the jam adding to the panic. The Merces junction, the Ribandar road, and parts of Porvorim were log jammed with long queues of vehicles.
Patients in need of emergency services may not reach hospitals on time due to the harrowing traffic. The poor road infrastructure in Panjim affected ambulance services, resulting in the loss of crucial minutes to treat patients at the Goa Medical College Hospital. The insensitivity of the public towards patients also needs to be stressed since some drivers were seen talking on mobile phones when ambulances were behind them in traffic instead of giving way.
