MAPUSA
Traffic congestion and rampant unauthorised parking have become a big bother for commuters and motorists in Mapusa. Almost all lanes and by-lanes in the market area and its vicinity are crammed and choked with haphazardly parked vehicles leaving very little space for pedestrians to walk freely.
Due to illegal parking, people who come to the Mapusa market and local residents face serious inconveniences.
During festivals, the problem gets further aggravated with people flocking to the famous Mapusa market.
Over the years, complaints made to concerned authorities have had little or no impact. The Mapusa Municipal Council does not seem to have the political will to implement discipline and bring a change in town.
“The civic body fails to collect garbage and debris dumped in every nook and corner of the city for days together. If this is cleared promptly it can create parking space. Abandoned vehicles also eat into parking space. We can find cars and bikes parked by the roadside, in front of shops, temples, parks “ almost everywhere,” said Pandurang Sawant, Joint Secretary of Mapusa Merchants’ Association.
He said complaints made to the civic body have failed to bring the desired result.
“Nothing happens in Mapusa. There is no political will to resolve the issue. Nobody is bothered,” a distressed Sawant exclaimed.
Certain key roads in the city witness parking on both sides of the road creating bottlenecks for smooth movement of traffic.
The main market roads from Union Pharmacy right up to the old Asilo hospital and the road from Bardez Bazaar right up to the HDFC Bank, Morod are always
congested.
The situation gets worse in localities with big establishments or hospitals, or even educational institutes.
The road stretch from the Alankar theatre upt o Remanso hospital, the street opposite the Mapusa court towards Peddem and the stretch near the Goa Baghyatdar witness chaotic traffic during
peak hours.
The narrow road in Khorlim towards the DMC College is also another problem area.
Urban planners said that Mapusa which is bursting at the seams has hardly any space to create new facilities and the only way out is to move out and create satellite towns.
“Mapusa has not spread like Margao extended to Fatorda and Panaji to Taleigao. All the amenities like the market and bus-stand are centralised and therefore everyone has to enter Mapusa. We need to move out. The bus-stand could be moved further out near Guirim,” said Ashwinikumar Prabhu, an architect.
He said the only open space that is available for expansion was the open fields near the Bodgeshwar Temple or further up in Colvale.
Attempts to contact Mapusa Municipal Council Chairperson Priya Mishal did not materialise.
