MARGAO: Citizens from Margao have expressed dismay with the number of abandoned and scrap vehicles lying in and around the town, be it on main roads or internal roads, which have been causing an inconvenience to pedestrians, blocking parking space and leading to criminal activity. They also demanded that stringent action be taken against the owners of such vehicles.
What’s worse is that despite the authorities including the police making a list of such scrap vehicles, new places have emerged where there are such vehicles parked for years, and these do not feature on that list that is with the District Collector’s office.
One such place is the Ring Road near Cine Lata where there are many such abandoned vehicles parked alongside the road that runs parallel to the railway tracks.
While DySP Traffic Prabodh Shirwaikar has assured to take action with respect to the vehicles that were not identified, there were complaints from other parts of Margao as well surrounding areas like Gogol etc. Incidentally, some of these vehicles even came in the way of recent road tarring work that is underway across Margao.
The Margao Municipal Council (MMC), which had in the past issued a public notice urging owners of such vehicles to remove them, have also been informed of the risk such abandoned vehicles pose from a health point of view, given that they could be a breeding site for mosquitoes that spread vector-borne diseases.
However, according to sources, the main reason why urgent action has not been taken against such abandoned vehicles is because there is no space to keep the vehicles once they are towed. Hence, it has been left to the Traffic police to handle the situation and they have managed to clear vehicles from neighbouring parts of Margao, but scrap vehicles abound around KTC bus stand, and other areas in Fatorda, Chandrawaddo, Power House Circle, Comba, Malbhat, Khareband, Aquem, Eastern Bypass, Navelim, Davorlim and Gogol. In December, the South Goa District Collector and Magistrate had issued a notice to the owners of vehicles lying abandoned in the jurisdiction of Margao town area for a long period of time, warning them that the vehicles will be auctioned if the owners don’t submit their claims for the same within six months.
