Team Herald
MARGAO: While new vehicles are added to the roads every month in Salcete, and no plan by concerned authorities to deal with this growing number of vehicles, with appropriate expansion of roads or provision of adequate parking space, accidents are slowly increasing.
For the last nine months in villages of Salcete 17 fatal accidents have been reported in which pedestrians are also killed.
The spate of accidents reported in Salcete causing instant deaths and injuries to people have brought to the fore the utter chaos that prevails on the roads of Margao, and the inability of the authorities to regulate traffic effectively.
Besides several minor accidents were reported causing injuries to several persons. Nuvem Bypass road junction has become an accident prone area and needs urgent attention as several accidents, including fatal ones, have taken place.
The volume of traffic that passes through Margao town during the peak hours is over 10,000 vehicles per hour. Congestion in the morning and chaos in the evening seems to have become the norm in Margao particularly at Aquem, Borda, Fatorda, Gogal and even on interior roads. So also despite traffic signal there is heavy traffic congestion in the evening at Gogal junction, near Margao Hospicio, Khareband, Navelim road, Ravanfond, etc. Due to narrow roads and lack of infrastructure there is traffic congestion.
Any commuter or road user will swear that the day begins with traffic snarls and as dusk falls, the overcrowding escalates to traffic jams leaving people of Margao frustrated.
Ulhas Kerker, a prominent citizen, said that several reasons have been given for this scenario; increasing number of vehicles, narrow road, no road markings, presence of non-motorised traffic on the sides of the already narrow roads, lack of traffic signals at many intersections and inadequate police personnel to regulate the traffic.
He said that unregulated traffic, drivers who have no road etiquette and lack of infrastructure are among the other things that have created a traffic scenario that is close to a state of lawlessness.
Police sources said that cases ranging from honking, using harsh horns, parking in no-parking zones, driving without uniform, over-speeding, failure to issue tickets to passengers, etc, were booked. Cases like entering into no-entry zones, driving without licence or permits and driving under the influence of alcohol were also registered.
Fines were also imposed when vehicles were found without registration plates besides using faulty number plates but this has not helped to keep check on rate of accident and traffic congestion.
A random survey conducted by traffic police on drunk drivers in Salcete has revealed that the majority of those fined were young, educated and driving private vehicles.
”We conducted a random yearly survey of drivers caught under the influence of alcohol and found many of them are well-educated and driving private vehicles,” said sources in traffic police.
