MARGAO
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, so goes the good old adage. Just a day’s crackdown on rent-a-bikes and rent-a-cars by the RTO saw the owners scurrying for cover, leaving prime parking spaces open for citizens.
If the area around the Margao Municipal building and the market area is now open for parking by the general public, the Comba ring road is literally free from the rent-a-cars since the last three days. In fact, citizens coming to drop and collect school children as well as office goers may find parking space on the Comba ring right from the railway crossing to the La Flor hotel. For, this stretch of the ring road, which has a capacity to accommodate dozens of cars, was always occupied by the rent-a-cars with the traffic police remaining as silent spectators.
In fact, the Traffic officials and the Margao Traffic cell had been dragging its feet in initiating action against the rent-a-cars parked along the Comba ring road, despite the fact that the parking was carried out right under their nose.
What has brought about a change in the ground reality is the meeting chaired by Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar with officials of RTO, Traffic police, Margao police and presidents of Municipal market associations last week upon a complaint lodged by councillor Mahesh Amonkar.
The complaint by councillor Amonkar and the Municipal market associations was simple, that citizens do not get the parking space in the heart of the town, especially around the MMC building and the market areas since the rent-a-bikes occupy the public space.
Questions are now being raised in city circles, why were the authorities, including the RTO and police, dragging their feet in initiating action against the rent-a-bikes and rent-a-cars when they openly conceded that the rules mandates the owners to run their business from their place of residence or office and not from the road sides.
