Traffic congestion seems to the order of the day in Mapusa with thousands of vehicles entering and exiting the town in North Goa on a daily basis.
The town houses the famous market, which is most frequently visited by consumers on Fridays, government offices and commercial complexes. With the increasing number of vehicles entering and exiting Mapusa, the Gandhi Chowk, junction near Hotel Satyaheera, the junctions near old municipality, court, Aldona bus stop and at Duler are congested.
The town is faced with host of problems such as stray cattle, improper footpaths, bad roads and no traffic signals. Since there is only one main road – from Mapusa market to Duler, the stretch from Morod via the court junction is always busy. There are several internal roads, which serve as short cuts but are narrow and in bad condition.
Stray cattle squatting on the road disrupt the free flow of traffic. There is no proper footpath from the court junction, Mapusa market and upto Duler. Most roads do not have footpaths for pedestrians, who are forced to walk on the roads.
Most roads especially the one near Union Pharmacy leading to Aldona bus stop till Morod has been widened but the GSUDA has dumped the debris along the road side which has hampered the traffic movement.
Leaving aside the court junction, none of the other junctions such as Aldona bus stop, Joao Menezes, Duler and Gandhi Chowk have traffic signals installed.
Sources in the Traffic Cell informed that presently around 35 traffic policemen are deployed on field duty in the town and another 25 more personnel are needed to keep check on every nook and corner of Mapusa.
The bad condition of the internal roads due to the digging work has also added to traffic congestion in Mapusa. Since the Morod-Duler road connects the neighbouring villages, the traffic flow her is more as compared to other areas.
Mapusa Traffic Cell PI Tushar Vernekar said, “We have made several letters to Mapusa Municipal Council requesting it to install traffic signals at different junctions in the town but till date we haven’t received any replies. We also wrote to the CO requesting that the traffic signals at Mapusa court junction be replaced with new ones but our request has fallen on deaf ears. We are trying our best to ensure the free flow of traffic but at the same time motorists violated traffic rules which further add to traffic congestion. If people follow the rules then only it will be easy for the Traffic Cell to ensure the free movement of vehicles in Mapusa”.
Rahul Naik, a daily commuter said, “I travel from Morjim to Panjim and since the NH 17 is a long route I prefer taking the Mapusa court junction. The signal here is not properly designed and confusing. Not only during the peak hours but throughout the day the roads in Mapusa are congested and the same turn into a nightmare for motorists during peak hours.”
