The serpentine queues at the Agasaim-Cortalim stretch of the national highway have thrown life of commuting citizens completely out of gear. It's over a fortnight that heavy traffic congestion is seen along this section, leaving people fuming over missed schedules and flights and even making it difficult to attend to emergencies.
The situation is not showing any signs of easing despite the added deployment of traffic police at the site. The struggles continue. While the political class has been trying to latch on to the issue, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant while speaking at a function in Neura earlier this week, tried to wade through the wave of protests by requesting people to bear the inconvenience caused by commuting and blamed it on the ongoing development works.
There is no denying the fact that the smooth flow of traffic is being hampered by the ongoing works along the roads leading to the Zuari bridge, and that has been the case for over four years, except for the time when movement was restricted due to the pandemic. People's agony cannot be prolonged over such a period on the pretext of development. The government cannot take this escape route, more especially when where traffic had slowed for nearly two years on account of the Covid phases.
Besides the routine commute, there are a host of other facilities that make it mandatory for people from the South to head to the capital and beyond. The GMC has become a hub of medical activity, and people from South Goa, in the absence of a dedicated Covid facility, have no other option but to head there for treatment. There are ambulances on regular sorties carrying patients and attending to emergencies. And there are tourists and locals who have flight schedules to keep. Can all of this wait?
Moreover, with Covid easing off, Goa has launched itself on tourism season in a big way hoping to salvage losses of the past. Every attempt is being made to woo visitors and the swell of tourists is testimony to this. Why would tourists consider Goa when they find themselves stuck in a traffic melee, totally inconvenienced and left guessing over their itinerary?
Secondly, there are a series of events and festivals lined up, including the International Film Festival of India, the feast of St Francis Xavier and the novenas of Ven Agnelo, not forgetting the Sunburn fest that draws crowds from across India. Such kind of road bottlenecks will only pile on the misery of travellers, and no tourist will be ready to accept the 'development' argument that the government is raising time and again to justify the chaos.
It is obvious that road works have picked up pace due to the onset of the election season, and the government is ensuring that it milks it to its full advantage. The sudden rush towards deadlines shows that. What is despising is that there is no serious attempt to elevate the sufferings of travellers who are inconvenienced every single day, while the development tune keeps playing.
