CALANGUTE: Traffic jams clogged most roads along the Calangute belt, as motorists made a mad scramble to the famed coast to usher in the New Year.
Efforts by Calangute panchayat and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo to widen the roads in order to reduce the traffic congestion during peak Christmas season did little to address the traffic jams along most major roads in Calangute on Wednesday.
Traffic moved at snail’s pace along all roads leading to Candolim and Calangute beaches as early as 3.30 pm. The presence of the Calangute Police Traffic Cell personnel, however, helped in controlling traffic movement on the roads.
It was a common sight at the St Anthony’s Chapel junction at Naika-Gaura-Tivai Vaddo, as scores of vehicles were lined up on all sides, despite the efforts of Calangute panchayat to widen the roads and shift the electricity poles.
Traffic diversion and one-way traffic routes did help a bit in regulating traffic, but confusion prevailed at times and locals had to bear the brunt due to traffic diversion at certain places.
In the absence of sufficient parking space for vehicles, a large number of tourist and inter-state vehicles were seen parked in private properties at Calangute. Tourists were also found camping in private properties and were equipped with gas cylinders and other cooking equipment to avoid visiting restaurants and hotels.
“Domestic tourists who visit Goa and Calangute in particular, on New Year’s eve are of no use to Goans from an economic point of view. These people come with all their food stuff, cook, litter the place and return to their native places without even spending a rupee either at a shop or restaurant. They arrive, have their meals in open spaces and roam about on the beaches and leave on New Year Day. How do we benefit from such tourists,” asked John D’Souza.
The decision to chop down a large number of trees as part of road-widening work was also questioned by locals.
“The government has needlessly felled trees to widen the roads in the name of development, in order to attract more and more tourists. The widened roads are being misused either to park vehicles or to place advertisements, while the traffic chaos continues. The traffic woes will not be solved unless and until the tourism department stops portraying Goa as a ‘cheap’ tourism destination. Year by year, traffic on our roads is increasing, but there is no gain to Goa’s economy,” remarked Stacy Fernandes.
