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THE GOAN NETWORK
CANACONA: Following public outcry over growing accidents along the Canacona stretch of the NH66 highway, authorities have decided to stop heavy vehicles on the outskirts of Canacona taluka during peak school hours each morning and afternoon.
According to sources at the Canacona police station, heavy vehicles entering the state via Polem will be halted near the Polem check post, while heavy vehicles leaving the state via Karmalghat section will be halted at Gulem.
Heavy vehicles will be prevented from entering the taluka for about three hours each day, from 6 am to 8 am and from 1pm to 2 pm, thereby giving priority to the movement of children to and from schools.
Sources said directions have been issued to regulate heavy vehicles entering and exiting the taluka, following demands of local residents for some relief to the student community.
According to sources, a number of citizens were planning to hold an agitation to limit the movement of heavy vehicles which had surged in recent times, following the traffic diversion at Anmod Ghat and the setting up of a Logistics Container handling facility at Balli.
“At times, 20-25 trucks ply along the highway, leaving no chance for any other vehicle to overtake. This endangers the safety of students, as school buses are keen to travel to and from school on time,” said a social worker Ajit Poinginkar, who incidentally took up the issue with the new Canacona PI Sudesh Narvekar on Tuesday, after which directions were given to halt heavy vehicles during peak school hours.
Incidentally, many educational institutes in Canacona taluka, right from Char-Rasta/Gulem to the north and at Maxem (Loliem-Polem village) to the south of the taluka, are situated to the very close to the NH-66 highway.
They include the Govt Higher Secondary School (Mastimoll), SFX School (Bhatpal), Shri Shradhanand Vidyalaya (Poinguinim), Nirakar High School (Maxem), SS Angle Higher Secondary School (Dapot).
Such has been the concern among those transporting schoolchildren to and from schools that police teams had been manning the highway during peak school hours at the Shri Mallikarjun Vidyalaya (Char-Rasta) and St Thereza of Jesus High School (Chaudi), the two schools in Canacona municipality.
“The decision to restrict movement of heavy vehicles on the highway during peak school hours will benefit the transportation of students to and from the many schools,” said the parent of a student of St Thereza of Jesus High school, Chaudi.
