Parking woes still haunt Madgaokars

Parking woes still haunt Madgaokars
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, OCT 26
If vehicular parking was an election issue in the Commercial Capital in the 2005 Civic polls, parking is not just an issue in the ensuing polls, but continues to be the major problem facing the city.
This is despite the fact that the city is blessed with three open spaces in the heart of the town at the Old bus stand, old fish market and the pick-up stand.
In fact, half-hearted attempts by the Civic body in the last one decade aimed at solving the parking problem has so far failed to bring any relief to the motorists and pedestrians.
For instance, the Margao Municipal Council during the current term had invited an Expression of Interest from consultants to put in place a multi-storey pay parking lot at the three open spaces. The Civic body took the initiative after Urban Development Minister, Joaquim Alemao promised funds to the tune of Rs 20-30 crore for the multi-parking facility.
Sadly, through around five consultants had evinced interest in the proposal, the entire process was mysteriously scrapped midway for reasons best known to the civic authorities.
Incidentally, this is the second time in the last decade that the Civic body had made efforts to utilize the open spaces for multi-storey parking facility. Former Chairperson Ganashyam Shirodkar had invited pre-qualification tenders to put up a multi-storey parking lot at the old bus stand, but the proposal found no favour when the BJP-supported group assumed office in 2000.
This was followed by another attempt by the State Urban Development Agency to find a solution to the parking woes. SUDA had even obtained a resolution from the Civic body to set up a parking facility at the old bus stand, but in vain.
Significantly, while the government has pumped in funds to the tune of over Rs 200 crore for the proposed district collectorate building and district hospital in the Commercial capital, no allocation has been made by successive governments to address the burning parking problem.
Incidentally, the Goa police had mooted introduction of parking fees on two-wheelers parking along roadsides, but the proposal was shot down by the civic body on more than one occasion on grounds that levying parking fees would not add a single inch of additional parking space in the city.
Sadly, a perusal of Margao municipal records would reveal that there’s no dearth of resolutions taken by the City Fathers over the years to address parking problem, with the resolutions now confined to the dusty record books in the Civic body.