PANJIM: Director General of Police (DGP) Goa, Mukesh Kumar Meena said that traffic police will be deployed round-the-clock while local police will also be stationed at areas where traffic congestions occur regularly and see a lot of movement of tourists.
“We have deployed additional manpower. We have also asked authorities to repair roads as early as possible,” said the DGP, after a meeting that was convened to address the recent traffic congestions.
The meeting not only discussed measures to reduce such traffic jams but also reviewed prevailing measures to maintain law and order in Goa. The DGP blamed the ongoing work on the Ribandar causeway and the closure of the said road of causing the traffic jam in the capital city. He was referring to the traffic diversions that have been put in place as a result of it which led to bottlenecks on roads in and around Panjim. There have been repeated traffic blocks for vehicles heading towards Porvorim, Merces, St Cruz and Panjim. The DGP also referred to the ongoing highway construction and road repair and maintenance works that have led to traffic jams in other parts of the State. For instance, with one stretch of the Goa Velha bypass closed, there has been heavy traffic congestion on Agassaim to Cortalim stretch of the national highway in the last couple of days.
The DGP was also asked about the deliberations over the law and order situation in Goa.
He further spoke about how the police department is recruiting 2,000 more personnel, which will strengthen their abilities too.
The DGP also gave the impression that the crime rate is in check even though the opposition haven been criticising the State government over the number of criminal incidents that have been reported in the last few weeks.
“Crimes in Goa have not shown any comparative increase. If you compare figures, crime has not increased in Goa. Whatever cases are reported to police are getting detected,” he added.
Speaking about figures, the DGP recalled how he had earlier noticed that police stations were not registering all cases, such as Motor Vehicle (MV) offenses or minor cases like the stealing of mobile phones etc.
“We issued directions that all cases, no matter how big or small, have to be registered. We had a brief training also in this regard. We then noticed that still some officials were not registering cases and we took action and some suspension orders were given. Now all cases are being registered,” said the DGP.
“This is important as it makes sure we do not have false figures. Now this may lead to an increase in the number of cases registered but in the long run it will have an impact as there will be a drop in the crime rate as deterrence will be set. More importantly, say a criminal is caught at one police station. Because we have up-to-date records, we can cross check if this criminal is wanted in any other offenses. This way, we can take strong action by building a better collective case against this person legally,” he concluded.
