VALPOI: The traffic congestion in Valpoi town area continues to haunt motorists and pedestrians with locals accusing the Valpoi Municipal Council and authorities for turning a blind eye to the situation.
Residents allege that mishaps are on the rise as as unmanned traffic created a chaos here.
On Wednesday, a scooterist was injured after his bike was knocked down by a speeding truck.
Business in the town has suffered too as customers stay away from the area rather than being caught in traffic for hours together.
The new Valpoi Municipal Council was elected two years ago. However, no action has been taken by the municipality to ease traffic congestion here. Notably, the new councillors after winning had in fact promised to focus more on easing the vehicular movement in the town.
The meetings were held in the municipal hall to discuss the matter multiple times to no success. These meetings were attended by Traffic Police as well as PWD officials and they had made various suggestions to ease the traffic. The suggestions however, have stayed only on paper so far.
Valpoi is seen as the main market place in Sattari Taluka and is always crowded. The people from rural areas also visit Valpoi town for official work and clearly, the town seems to be over-running its carrying capacity.
Office-goers and especially students are affected the most due to traffic congestion. During peak hours in the morning and afternoon, parents find it difficult to pick up their children after school.
Local MLA and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane had built a new market complex in place of the old municipal building and shopkeepers were given shops here. However, since there is not much parking space here, people prefer to stay away from here.
