BASURI DESAI
The move to streamline Panjim’s traffic is crumbling as the pay parking has not served its purpose. The road pay parking system leave much in its implementation, while the multi-storey facility at Patto is also not fully utilized.
Many areas in the city have no agents to collect pay parking fees despite the Corporation City of Panaji (CCP), having notified the pay parking areas and issued the work order to the contractor after following all legal procedures.
Though, the initiative was not to generate revenue for the CCP, the motive to put a system in place for parking, and hence reduce congestion, is collapsing all over the city as the contractor has failed to implement it effectively.
CCP Commissioner Dipak Desai said the corporation is not looking to earn any revenue but wants a proper system that will reduce traffic congestion in the city but the people and the contractor are not cooperating. “There is no cooperation from the contractor, his employees and the people, also which led to the weakening of the pay parking implementation,” Desai said.
He, however, said that the pay parking system will be reviewed in April or May, as it is not possible at this point of time due to the Assembly elections.
The multi-storey pay parking facility at Patto, built to reduce congestion in the city, has again failed due to faulty implementation. Despite there being enough space in the building, vehicles are seen parked outside defeating the purpose the building was built for.
At the peak evening hours most tourist vehicles are seen parked next to the open space near the pay parking facility, so too visitors to the casinos do not utilise the space for parking, increasing the traffic congestion in the area that is one of the main entry points to the city.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Dharmesh Angle said that people are not using it because of the distance from the city to pay parking facility. He said that parking around the building is illegal as it is notified as no parking area.
“We will be sorting out the issue related to the vehicles which are parked outside the parking building but we won’t be able to force people who want to enter the city to use the parking facility as it is a long distance to walk,” Angle said.
The option for the people is to either take a bus or walk after parking their vehicles in facility. Most of the people have said that only linking is an issue with the parking space to utilize it.
