VASCO: In the absence of adequate parking space in the port town, commuters are forced to park their vehicles in Vasco in a haphazard manner, which only adds to the daily traffic congestion woes.
While the traffic cell in Vasco says letters to clear encroachments from parking designated space have been sent, the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) has kept mum on the issue.
When Herald contacted Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida, he reasoned that the parking project is a big solution and added that it will be soon come up behind the court premises. He however, chose to put the onus on his rival, Mormugao MLA Milind Naik.
“For this, the project file is with Directorate of Municipal Administration and the Urban Development Minister (Naik) should look into this matter and get this file cleared as this main project will solve the parking problem from town,” said Almeida.
He further stated the current issue of haphazard parking will only be solved if a traffic plan is implemented strictly by the Traffic Police and MMC.
However, Vasco Traffic Cell Police Inspector Suraj Samant, emphasised that there are several issues, which have led to the burgeoning parking problems, which have to be taken care of by the authorities concerned.
“First of all, the encroachments from the parking spaces have not been cleared by MMC. We had even written a letter to MMC asking them to clear the debris on both the sides of the roads so that it can be used as the space for parking but that has not been done till now, “ said Samant.
He added that road markings are not proper in Vasco, which should have been done by the PWD and MMC. He also referred to the number of abandoned vehicles in the municipal jurisdiction. He pointed out that the traffic cell had written to the MMC asking them to identify or suggest a site where those vehicles can be shifted, which in turn would free up space for parking.
“As per my opinion, if MMC marks the parking space in front of municipality building as pay-parking then most of people will have enough space for parking” he added.
