Thursday 28 Mar 2024

MMC calls for meeting with stakeholders, heads of educational institutions today ahead of schools' opening

Seeks solution to traffic, parking issues plaguing city during peak school hours

THE GOAN NETWORK | MAY 26, 2023, 12:34 AM IST
MMC calls for meeting with stakeholders,   heads of educational institutions today ahead of schools' opening

File photo of school reopening in the city throwing traffic management to a toss.

MARGAO

With the proposed education hub at Davorlim in limbo due to objections from the local populace and just a fortnight to go for the new academic year, authorities seemed to have a task cut out – how to streamline the traffic management and ensure road safety in the heart of the commercial capital after the reopening of the city schools.

While the Margao Municipal Council has called  for a consultative meeting with the stakeholders, including the heads of the educational institutions on Friday to work out a solution on a host of traffic and parking issues plaguing the city during peak school hours, issues such as staggered school timings, clearing the Old Margao bus stand from present rot to pave way for vehicular parking for the school students et al may take the centre stage.

For, joint meetings initiated by the Men-in-uniform with the heads of educational institutions and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) in the past had offered a host of suggestions including staggered timings for the schools located within the half-a-kilometre radius to avoid the rush of students and parents during peak hours.

At one of these meetings, the stakeholders, including the parents had underscored the need to utilize the old Margao bus stand to drop and pick up students. 

Sadly, the proposal did not see light of the day for reasons best known to the authorities, including the powers that be as a result of which the bus stand has turned into an eyesore, with owners leaving their gaddas at the bus stand when the license condition makes it mandatory for the owners to tow the kiosks to their place of residence after business hours.

A parent told The Goan that Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and the Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar should intervene and clear the mess from the Old market bus stand before the reopening of the schools. 

“The spacious bus stand can be used to drop and pick up  students by parents during peak hours. This is the only vacant spacious space in the heart of the town which can be put to productive use to streamline traffic around the educational institutions and ensure the safety of the students”, the parent said.

He added:  “Even otherwise, the authorities, including the Margao Municipal Council should clean up the old bus stand by removing the gaddas, mangled remains of accident vehicles and the garbage. What message is the civic body conveying to the young minds when they have cross the eyesore at the bus stand every day during their entire academic year”.

The consultative meeting between the heads of educational institutions and the authorities has been called by the Margao Municipal Council in order to find solutions to the perennial issues of traffic, parking etc plaguing the city after the opening of the educational institutions.

What has further affected the regulation of traffic in the heart of the city is the gross shortage of police personnel with the Margao Traffic cell, affecting the regulation of traffic at and around the educational institutions leaving the motorist to fend for themselves during the peak school hours.


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