Imagine what might happen once Nitin Gadkari’s dream of a six-hour journey from Mumbai to Goa is built with concrete?
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Monday was a very difficult day for vehicle owners who chose to travel to Panaji. Heavy rains in the morning, a couple of accidents on NH17 and influx of tourists, many in self-driven cars and jeeps caused a huge traffic pile up on the highway. The road leading from Betim to the Mandovi bridge was congested and the ferry point at Betim was a sea of vehicles. Practically all routes to the capital were chocked with vehicles and commuters trying to get from one side to the other. Traffic crawled and the distance from Acdil School to the bridge took about an hour. The situation was no different in the evening and it was only around eight at night that the situation eased up.
This always happens on a long weekend. Two holidays coupled with a Sunday was enough to draw tourists looking for a four-day holiday in the State. Imagine what might happen once Nitin Gadkari’s dream of a six-hour journey from Mumbai to Goa is built with concrete? There will be a larger influx of vehicles and larger traffic jams during long weekends. Of course one might argue that flow of traffic will improve once the third Mandovi bridge is commissioned. But then, the influx of more tourists on the commission of a new airport at Mopa will swell the number of taxis which could nullify the gains of the third Mandovi bridge. And what should we do until the third bridge is commissioned?
It is clear that the tourism department and minister believe their job is to increase the number of tourist footfalls. The quality of the stay is taken for granted. Agreed, every city experiences traffic jams which are many times worse than what is witnessed in the State. That does not mean we have to put up with it. A traffic jam of the magnitude experienced on Monday is an embarrassment for a State that topped the list of best small states in a recent survey conducted by a national magazine.
Goa needs to think very seriously about the ill effects of promoting mass tourism. There has been a gradual shift in favour of mass tourism which brings more tourists, and the problems associated with numbers, but yields lesser value. The larger the number, greater is the pressure on existing infrastructure as was witnessed on Monday. Instead of a master plan, Goa needs to undertake a study to determine the carrying capacity of existing infrastructure before going ahead with plans to increase numbers. The State also needs to ascertain the per capita contribution of tourists and device a model to increase value without increasing numbers.
As for the local populace, the traffic police must work out plans as to handle large influx of cars and tourists on long weekends to ease traffic congestion. A higher entry tax might curb use of individual transport. An increases in the number of ferries on the Betim-Panaji route will help.
