NEW YEAR’S EVE RUSH: A long queue of vehicles lines the main road in Vagator around 7 pm on New Year’s Eve, with traffic expected to worsen as revellers head towards the beachside celebrations later in the night.
MAPUSA
As Goa counted down to the New Year, the familiar twin problems of traffic chaos and sleepless nights returned to haunt residents along the North Goa coastal belt, particularly in Candolim-Calangute-Baga and Anjuna-Vagator.
From late Wednesday evening, vehicles crawled bumper-to-bumper along the narrow coastal roads, with traffic piling up rapidly as revellers streamed towards beaches and nightclubs to usher in the New Year.
While the congestion on the eve itself was expected, locals noted that traffic movement in the days leading up to December 31 was relatively smoother compared to last year.
A large number of domestic tourists arrived in the coastal State in private vehicles, adding to the pressure on village roads ill-equipped to handle such volumes.
“The roads are packed with vehicles and it will only worsen as the night progresses. Most tourists come with their own cars and head straight towards the beaches. It clearly shows that Goa remains the preferred New Year destination for people across India,” said Jawish Moniz, a resident of Vagator.
Moniz pointed out that indiscriminate parking has turned village roads into choke points.
“Vehicles are parked on both sides of the road and sometimes right in front of residential gates. In an emergency, you simply won’t be able to bring an ambulance through. The village roads are too narrow for this kind of load,” he said.
Similar scenes played out along the Candolim-Calangute-Baga stretch, where traffic congestion has become a ritual every New Year’s Eve.
“This is an annual affair. The roads are jammed and it’s the locals who suffer the most. The congestion creates major problems for residents, especially those attending midnight Mass,” said Alex D’Souza, a resident of Calangute.
Traffic police were deployed at major junctions and choke points, but even officials admit that controlling the volume of vehicles during peak hours remains a daunting task.
While roads remained gridlocked, the coastal belt – particularly Anjuna and Vagator – was engulfed in a different kind of chaos: nonstop, high-decibel music blaring from nightclubs well into the early morning hours.
Residents say the problem began days before New Year’s Eve, with loud music blasting continuously from Christmas Day onwards.
“We understand celebrations on festival days. But this has been going on relentlessly for five days now. There is no respite. Tonight will be one big explosion of sound and we are forced to suffer it,” said Desmond Alvares, a local resident and long-time campaigner against noise pollution in the area.
Alvares alleged a complete breakdown of enforcement during the peak season.
“The first responder in such cases is the police, but the Anjuna police station appears to have kept its phone off the hook. When we try to lodge complaints, no one responds,” he said.
Adding to residents’ concerns is the reappearance of nightclubs that were earlier sealed for failing to obtain fire safety clearances and other mandatory permissions.
“Clubs that were sealed have quietly resumed operations. Hill Top, which is located close to the police station, has been among the loudest, playing music throughout the night,” Alvares alleged.
He named several other establishments, including Dynamo, Salud, Shiva Valley and Jungle Origin, as venues contributing to the sustained noise levels across the Anjuna-Vagator belt.
For many locals, New Year’s Eve has come to symbolise not celebration, but disruption – marked by gridlocked roads, blocked access to homes, unanswered complaints and sleepless nights.
As revellers welcomed the New Year with music and fireworks, residents once again asked a familiar question: at what cost does Goa’s party economy continue to thrive, and who bears the burden when regulation gives way to revelry?
