CANACONA
The New Year may still be five days away, but that has not stopped hordes of tourists from flocking to the beaches in Canacona taluka.
Domestic tourists have been travelling in vehicles and have clogged the narrow streets right from Khola beach in the north of Canacona right up to Polem at the extreme southern end of Goa State.
Even though most foreign nationals come with prior bookings, many domestic visitors either come with their own vehicles or hire rent-a-cars, causing several traffic jams and making parking space a major hurdle.
“Palolem loses several tourists because of the non-availability of parking space. The only parking lot right at the Palolem Main beach entrance can only accommodate a handful of vehicles, and most motorists have to go through hardships on the narrow road beginning at the Palolem-Agonda junction, resulting in constant traffic jams,” remarked a tourist entrepreneur and social worker, Socorro Da Silva.
“There is a parking lot owned by the Canacona Municipal Council near the Palolem main beach entrance, but reaching there becomes a great challenge, and as the space is so small, there is hardly any space left to park vehicles. Many tourists then move out, while those who come with prior bookings have no option but to park their vehicles at Bollo, where private parking is arranged for visitors arriving with their own vehicles.”
Ex-CMC chairperson and sitting Ourem-Palolem councillor, Simon Rebello, admitted that the issue of parking space has been a long-pending issue with the government.
According to sources, there are about five private pay-parking sites, but they are over 2 km away from the main Palolem beach.
In the absence of parking space at Palolem, tourists then move towards Agonda beach, causing the same traffic jam along the narrow streets.
“It is not that tourists have increased manifold, but the main reason for the traffic snarls is that a growing number of visitors travel in their own vehicles and in rent-a-car vehicles,” stated a tourist taxi driver at Agonda.
Agonda does not have its own panchayat-owned parking lot, but private players have a handful of pay parking slots on either side of the beach, while beach resorts offer their parking space only to their clients.
Khola beach, which has a handful of beach coves and the Cabo-da-Rama Fort, as well as the Rajbhag beach, witness similar heavy traffic of outstation vehicles, outnumbering the tourist taxis. Khola panchayat also does not have its own land for parking facilities, except for a little space at the Cabo-de-Rama Fort.
A similar problem confronts motorists at the Galgibaga beach and Talpona in Poinguinim village, as well as the Polem beach in Loliem-Polem village.
According to locals, most of the hotels and resorts are fully booked for the New Year, and there are concerns that the traffic jams could intensify between December 30 and January 2. They have requested authorities to explore new avenues for parking spaces and find some ways to avoid traffic congestion on the already narrow and insufficient beach roads of Palolem and Agonda beach.
