Locals and tourists muddle through the maze of dug roads, closed roads,
no sign boards or enough traffic cops
Team Herald
PANJIM: People, activists and those concerned about the Capital city, have run out of adjectives to describe the chaos Panjim represents today. Once the most beautiful and charming city, with its well laid out streets and a pleasure to take evening strolls, is today in a sad state of complete ruin. Nearly every city road has been dug, throwing the traffic in a tizzy.
Commuters are having a horrifying experience on Panjim streets with incessant digging on nearly every street. Just when people thought that the nightmare of 2024 digging was over, the Smart City contractors have launched an assault on the streets with added vengeance in the New Year 2025. The streets are either closed without notice, some streets which were one way have become two way and others are closed without forewarning leading to absolute chaos, confusion and fights among commuters.
The situation is not only exasperating but unbearable to the point that it is driving Panjimites and tourists crazy. The road behind the Adil Shah Palace has been closed due to digging, thus diverting all the traffic to the Church Square. The traffic congestion which ensues in front of the Panjim Church is mind boggling, with tourists making a beeline to the Church.
The Mahatma Gandhi Road has been dug from the Old Secretariat right up to Don Bosco School and onwards to Caculo Island, St Inez is totally dug. Closure of this one way road to tourists and locals taking no entry roads is leading to fights among commuters.
The road near Panjim Police Station too has been dug. There is no concern for commuters to finish one road and then start digging the next road.
The road near the St Inez Junction too has been dug. No sign boards or diversion signs have been put up to let the commuters know which road to take to find a destination.
Some Panjimites complained that the situation is so fluid and scary that even if you take one road and try to return after two hours, that road is closed, since it has been dug.
CCP Councillor Uday Madkaikar said, “There is no place for people to enter the city, roam around. There is no planning. There is no single traffic cop at congestion points. Even as the contractors have to put traffic wardens as per the contract signed, there are no traffic wardens. There is no forewarning. There are no sign boards and there are no indications of diversions. People follow a particular route and then they have to turn all the way back, leading to excruciating traffic congestion.”
He said, “The road in front of Don Bosco High School was closed and dug, causing hardship to the students and parents. It was an irony that this road was dug when the schools reopened after Christmas holidays. They should have carried out the works during holidays.”
Dr Luis Dias of Sao Tome said, “Smart City works are carried out in a haphazard manner without considering the hardships caused to motorists and pedestrians. No provision has been made for alternate roads for the pedestrians and everybody has been made to fend for themselves. There is no coordination between the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited and other government agencies. There is a lack of planning and works are not carried out in a phased manner to alleviate the hardships of the people. This is utter stupidity.”
Dias pointed out in his locality works were carried out even during night at a feverish pitch and residents were subjected to a lot of inconveniences. The contractor even blocked our access. The trees have been butchered in the city indiscriminately. The residents are taken for a ride and granted and are given the lowest priority by the bureaucrats.
Panjim Traffic Cell PI Chetan Soulekar said, “We have deployed our staff wherever roads have been closed. We are keeping our staff wherever there is road diversion. Due to diversion there is slow movement of traffic and the traffic has not come to a standstill. We have increased our staff and there are about 30-35 traffic police deployed alone in the capital city. The contractors also have to deploy their marshalls.”