Often considered to be the heart of Bardez, Mapusa, which is also the headquarters of the taluka, is visited by thousands of people on a daily basis. This could be the residents or others who are dropping by for work, shopping, education, and other purposes including various government administrative related works. These people know best about the parking and traffic problems in the town, especially during the peak hours.
Regarding government work, all the major departments such as the Deputy Collector’s office, Mamlatdar, RTO, TCP, Zonal Agriculture Office, Power, PWD (roads, water) amongst others as well as the courts and district hospital are located in Mapusa but cater to Bardez population as a whole.
Apart from this, Mapusa town also houses several schools and colleges including the Saraswat Vidyalaya College, St. Xavier’s College, St Britto High School, St. Mary’s Convent High School and more, which is attended by students not just from Bardez but across Goa.
Further, the main attraction of the town is the Mapusa Municipal market, which is visited by a large number of people on a daily basis and these numbers double on Fridays.
Then there is the bus stand, which is an important depot, since buses not just from Bardez but neighbouring talukas as well as inter-state buses halt here. Locals believe the movement of these buses needs to be monitored to ensure it does not contribute to traffic congestion in the area.
Mapusa’s connectivity problems are not due to the lack of entry and exit routes, of which there are many. These include Panjim to Mapusa via Porvorim, Calangute to Mapusa via Parra, Assagao to Mapusa via Khorlim, Canca to Mapusa, Siolim to Mapusa via Ganeshpuri, Siolim to Mapusa via Duler, Pernem to Mapusa via Duler, Bicholim to Mapusa via Duler and Bastora to Mapusa via Tar River.
Some of these routes directly connect to Mapusa town and some pass through internal roads of Mapusa.
Now, with increase in number of vehicles plying on the routes, the absence of parking facilities is one of the major causes of the traffic jams. Locals point out that while on one hand, many of the older buildings do not have parking facilities, there are many new high-rise residential and commercial buildings coming up, which will simply compound the existing problems.
An example of the troubles faced by commuters can be seen on the Mapusa to Khorlim road, which connects Assagao. It is one of the most congested roads throughout the day and late night. Due to the absence of parking, a lot of vehicles are parked on the road, which is already narrow and two-way. Without any possibility to widen the road as there are houses and buildings on either side, making the road one-way is the need of the hour, according to some locals.
The students visiting their schools, college in the area suffer the most and often get delayed due to heavy traffic.
“Because of the traffic congestion, the school and college-going children face great difficulty. They reach late and are then forced to stay outside as a form of punishment. Now, who is to be blamed? The road, the traffic block or the students, “said Sudesh Kinalkar, a parent from Canca.
It can be recalled that Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) had taken a resolution to make a bypass road from Mapusa to Assagao via Canca while taking into consideration the heavy traffic block on the Khorlim road. Around 6 years back, the road from Mapusa to Canca was completed. However, the bypass road directly connecting to Assagao never came into existence.
Locals added that the major junctions near Govekar bakery and Usapkar hotel are one of the busiest areas. Locals blame traffic police, for occupying space on the road and only being interested in collecting fines instead of regulating traffic.
Another area that needs attention is the road proceeding towards Karaswada via Duler from the court junction. Plagued with traffic problems, the road near football ground to Duler junction is another problem.
The area from Hutatma Chowk to the court junction that is unbearable during peak hours. A road where all type of vehicles are allowed, locals said there needs to be traffic police deployed instead of just relying on the traffic signals. Lack of parking is a problem here as well as vehicles are often seen parked on the road itself. This issue can be seen near the market and roads connecting neighbouring villages as well.
Further, even though there is parking reserved for two and four-wheelers near the market, it gets full quickly and doesn’t have space for commuters. It is to be noted that parking fee is charged by municipality in and around the market area. However, there are other areas such as from Sirsat building to old Aldona Bus stop and opposite to Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank, which are free parking spots. There are complaints that the few parking spots in the town are kept occupied throughout the day.
Another complaint is while the area opposite the taxi stand had been kept by the municipality for two-wheelers, the space is fully occupied by rent-a-bike operators, due to which computers do not get any chance to park their bikes.
It is also learnt that municipality had also resolved that no vehicles would be allowed to enter the Mapusa market but that only remained on paper and has not been followed up on the ground.
Locals also complained about the lack of parking boards in the town. There have been calls for better planning and revisiting areas where parking is currently not allowed in a bid to create more parking spaces.
There have been similar calls for the installation of traffic signals at busy junctions such as at the Gandhi circle, Old Aldona bus stop, area near Joe Menezes pharmacy junction, area near the PWD office amongst other areas. In this regard, petitions has already been forwarded to the higher authorities and departments concerned by locals.
There have also been demands to decongest routes such as those from the old Asilo hospital to Tar River road, Mapusa to new District Hospital and Mapusa to Panjim via Bodgini, since these roads have a one-way provision.
The traffic police however have stated that there are different points, where their personnel are deployed for smooth movement of traffic such as at the Mapusa Urban junction, near Mapusa Bus stand and Gandhi circle. Moreover, they add that 30-35 traffic police have been deployed all over Mapusa town.
They further stated that around 5,500 people were imposed fines for parking in no-parking areas for the year 2019 and around 500 people from January to February 2020.
Meanwhile, Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) is in the process of undertaking work on the proposed Mapusa bus stand to solve the aforementioned issues and more. This covers an area of 10,000 square metres which will have a footpath, shed for commuters, parking for interstate buses, toilets amongst other facilities.
Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza claimed that the temporary upliftment of Mapusa bus stand will give relief to most of the issues in Mapusa including traffic congestion and parking. “This upliftment of bus stand is to provide temporary relief to people from traffic congestion and parking. However the proposed master plan project of Mapusa bus stand will help to completely decongest the market and other areas,” he added.
On a concluding note, local residents shared their opinions.
“Mapusa struggles with traffic congestion and chaos daily due to the lack of parking space. The problem increases during peak hours and on Fridays when commuters have to go round several times in search of parking space. The vehicles are parked in a haphazard manner on the roadsides creating further problems for the flow of vehicles,” said Rameshwari Morajkar.
“The overall traffic system in Mapusa is a mess. No proper planning when it comes to parking facilities, traffic movement, encroachments as well as the issue of narrow roads have all contributed to the problems. Mapusa needs a holistic master plan to solve these issues. Care should be given for those who walk too including senior citizens who face hardships, “added Sudesh Tivrekar.
