Bolshe roundabout sees traffic chaos as signals go down

Blame it on the Margao civic body or otherwise, traffic signals are presently not functioning at the two traffic junctions, Hopes were raised last month after Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar announced that the civic body would soon ink an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the agency which had installed the traffic signals and look up its upkeep and maintenance.

Sadly, traffic signals at the two busy roundabouts are again down and out, creating traffic confusion amongst the motorists. 

With the Margao Traffic Police expressing its inability to regulate traffic at the two traffic junctions, chaos is  literally the order of the day, especially at the Bolshe roundabout.

While the Old market traffic signal is the only signal that is presently functioning, even traffic cops fear that traffic management will come to a halt at Old  market if the signals  fail to function for whatever reason.

Sources in the know told The Goan that the agency has made it clear that the MMC has still not inked the MOU to resume maintenance operations of the traffic signals. 

The civic body, sources said, has taken the plea that the MOU has not been signed with the agency since the Municipality is treading a cautious approach in view of the High Court directions on advertisement hoardings along the roads.

The agency, sources said, had expressed its willingness to maintain the traffic signals on the plea that the civic body permits display of advertisement boards at the traffic signals.

With no decision forthcoming on the MOU and whether advertisements boards can be allowed on the traffic signals, functioning of the traffic signals have come to a halt.

Traffic police have conceded that absence of traffic signals have resulted in total chaos at the Bolshe roundabout and at the Nehru stadium junction, while expressing its inability to regulate the traffic manually for want of manpower.