PANAJI
Commuters and residents in Panaji suffered massive traffic snarls, particularly along the outer Dayanand Bandodkar Road where all traffic spilled owing to the closure of the stretch of road from Taj Vivanta junction to the T-junction at the western end of the St Inez cemetery owing to the ‘Smart City’ works.
Apart from chock-o-bloc traffic on many of the city’s internal roads, the DB Marg took the brunt as most traffic resorted to the outer road hugging the Mandovi river to exit the city leading to utter chaos and long delays for most.
Traffic getting in and out of the DB Marg at the Bal Bhavan junction was the source of an nearly hour-long stalemate as traffic police personnel were at their wits end to control the mayhem.
The St Inez stretch of road is expected to be shut for at least another fortnight with contractors working on concretising it as part of the ‘smart road’ project under the Smart City Mission.
The closure meanwhile has blocked normal access to the St Inez cemetery which is the only burial ground catering to the Catholic community of both the parishes “ Immaculate Conception Church of Panaji and the St Agnes Church in St Inez “ adding up to an over 15,000 strong community.
There is no motorable access to the cemetery and sources in the parish said there is much consternation within the community over the problems people are likely to face in attending funeral services there.
“The hearse van transporting the funeral cortege will have to either halt at the Taj Vivanta junction on the Panaji side or at the Sheetal hotel T-junction and carry the cortege by foot for a good 50 metres to access the cemetery,” a member of the St Inez parish council said.
