This story is from August 14, 2018

On Margao-Panaji road, it takes four hours to travel four-km stretch

On Margao-Panaji road, it takes four hours to travel four-km stretch
For those proceeding to Panaji from Margao, the traffic snarl began as far up as at the Verna industrial estate and eased only at Agasaim, after the potholed road
PANAJI: For the third consecutive day, nearly four hour-long traffic jam developed along the four-kilometre Verna-Agasaim stretch on NH 66 severely inconveniencing commuters travelling on the Margao-Panaji route. Angry commuters berated the government for the “crater-sized” potholes on the road, which made the bottlenecks worse, and raised a finger at the incompetence of traffic police in managing the problem.
For four hours in the morning and then right through the day, traffic came to a standstill along the road leading from the Verna slope till Agasaim junction due to the bad condition of the road.

The situation was compounded by the large number of tourists visiting Goa on the weekend prior to the upcoming Independence Day holiday.
Advocate Agnetha Moniz, travelling from Margao to Panaji, missed important cases in the Children’s Court, arriving three hours later than she expected.
“This is ridiculous and it’s not the first time. People carried their heavy bags and preferred to walk and hitch a lift. An ambulance was stuck in traffic, too. The crater-sized potholes made the bottle necks worse,” she said, adding, “My heart was in my mouth with all the heavy traffic that came to a standstill on the Zuari Bridge,” she told TOI.
One commuter, Priya Naik, who tried unsuccessfully to travel from Margao to Panaji for two consecutive days, said, “On Saturday evening I got stuck at Verna plateau so I decided to return home. On Sunday, I left home around 4pm again, only to get caught in the jam for two hours at Cortalim. I was furious and came back home.” Priya, who has a cousin’s wedding in Panaji in November, said she had better travel two days prior to the event so as to make it in time.

A number of motorists also blamed drivers for not maintaining lanes and the traffic police for doing little to control them. “Potholed roads, dangerously placed barricades, motorists filling very conceivable gap, breaking every rule and courtesy all while police stood around in groups turning a blind eye. You can judge a community by their road discipline. No amount of superhighway infrastructure will change that,” Arjun Rebelo of Margao, said.
For those proceeding to Panaji from Margao, the traffic snarl began as far up as at the Verna industrial estate and eased only at Agaccaim, after the potholed road.
An ambulance’s shrieking siren fell on deaf ears as some motorists stuck in traffic for hours were reluctant to make way for anyone while others found themselves helpless in trying to help with the roads chock-a-block. One ambulance driver was left with no other option but to put lives at risk, including his own, by driving against the oncoming traffic in the opposite lane.
A number of citizens turned their vehicles around to avoid a repeat of a nightmare that they have been all too familiar with.
Nelson Fernandes set out at 9.30am from Margao for an important appointment at the Archbishop’s Palace at Panaji, only to return home when he found that traffic wasn’t moving at Verna. “I had lunch and set out on the journey at 2.30pm again thinking the situation would have improved, but it took me more than two hours to reach Panaji. It was a waste of time, fuel and money,” he said.
“No planning has gone into the bridge work as far as the public is concerned. The large potholes at Agasaim leave motorists travelling at a snail’s pace. There was an ambulance behind me and I tried to make way for it, but there was absolutely no space on the road approaching Zuari bridge. People’s lives are at stake and the government needs to seriously manage traffic effectively along this important route,” Fernandes added.
Those travelling by public transport have no turn-around option. One government employee said she reached office late on Monday due to the massive traffic jam. “I have a harrowing time these days as most of my time is spent travelling to and from work, stuck in the bus, waiting for the traffic to move. Due to these daily traffic jams, I have to also wait in long queues at the KTC shuttle bus counter at Panaji bus stand till 8pm.” Expressing worry about the situation when tourist season begins, the government employee said, “I shudder to think what will happen in the forthcoming months of peak tourist season from October to December. The government should either come up with a traffic plan or temporarily suspend the ongoing construction work that has narrowed the Cortalim-Verna road.”
The large potholes at Cortalim and especially Agasaim, have turned into death traps for bikers and force vehicles to move at 10km per hour.
“The poor quality roads and potholes are responsible for slowing down the traffic and causing the jam. Is it such a difficult task for the government that is promoting tourism, to get them filled?” Danush said.
College student Elijah D’Souza, trying to get from his college in Quepem to his home in Anjuna for the weekend, ended up travelling for six hours. He was stuck for two hours at Cortalim on Saturday evening. “I missed my connecting bus and had to ask my father to pick me up from Mapusa. I reached home only at 10pm,” he said.
Outside Dabolim airport, taxi drivers charged customers more taking into consideration the roadblock.
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