PONDA: With preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi festival beginning, traffic congestion at Shiroda market has become a daily affair as people are crowding for the festival shopping. Locals have demanded for traffic police to be deployed at the junction to monitor and ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
Vehicles traveling to Ponda, Savordem, Margao and Dabal pass via Shiroda market and congestion becomes inevitable during peak hours. The road going through the market is extremely narrow and adds further to the problem. People coming to the market park their vehicles in haphazard manner as there is no parking space facility.
Apart from the shopping for the festival, people passing via the route also stop to buy fruits, vegetables and other essentials. The market is shifted to Shiroda KTC stand a few days before Chaturthi but the problem persists during the festival as well. People travelling to Margao use ferry services and have to pass via Shiroda market which adds stress to the traffic. Private buses take elongated halts right in between the market space which triggers congestion.
“People park their vehicles on the roadside which causes inconvenience to the ones who come to market. Traffic police should be posted here in the market to penalise such motorists which will help in easing the congestion,” said one of the locals Suraj Naik.
