Team Herald
VASCO: Encroachment on parking space by handcarts and taxi operators has angered the residents of the port town.
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Angry and frustrated at not finding parking space, Vasco resident Preetam Queluscar complained, “On my visit to Vasco for some official work on Wednesday, I had to take five rounds around the town searching for parking space.”
“The two-wheeler parking space has been encroached on by the handcarts leaving no place for us. Adding to this problem, some taxi operators are occupying parking space at several places in the town for the entire day. So, where are we, common people, to park our vehicles?” he questioned.
Queluscar has urged the municipality and traffic police to work together and make parking space available for the people.
Commenting on the parking issue, Councillor Nilesh Navelkar came down heavily on the “lackadaisical” approach of the municipality.
Navelkar said that the taxi operators should have their own parking space; but they are parking their taxies the whole day in front of the municipal building, which is illegal. “Because of this many local people are deprived of parking space in the town; and they pay heavy fines for parking haphazardly,” he commented.
He claimed that the municipality was going soft on the handcarts occupying parking space.
Meanwhile, Mormugao Municipal Council Chairman Nandadeep Raut stated that he agrees that there is a parking problem in the port town. “Being a commercial hub with railway station and market, etc all people search for parking place. But the tourist taxi operators are occupying the space near the municipal building, due to which people face great inconvenience,” he said.
Raut informed that the pay parking project for Vasco town would soon get approval as the urban development minister and local MLA “are pursuing the matter closely.” He appealed to the taxi operators to spare the area near the municipal building and park their cars near parking place opposite Taneeya Hotel.
Last year, Chairman Raut and then Traffic Police Inspector Suraj Samant had discussed about making the area opposite municipal building a parking zone to solve the parking issue.
