MARGAO
The panel notified by the government was also mandated to pursue sub-plans which will include parking arrangements for educational institutions, religious places like churches, temples and mosques and places for public gathering like sports grounds.
Additional Director of Municipal Administration Satish Desai had on December 26, 2013, directed MMC to constitute the panels by giving representation to a cross section of society, including a senior citizen, woman, student, business community, consumer forum/consumer welfare cell, besides a municipal councillor ahead of the Road Safety and Traffic Week scheduled in early January 2014.
Sadly, nothing has been heard of this committee in the corridors of the civic body since then, leave alone the panel members meeting on a monthly basis to deliberate on issues of road safety and traffic management during the previous council and in the last 10 months headed by the new Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai.
That’s not all. The committee has been mandated to submit its report every six months or earlierto the Chairperson/ Chief Officer, Director of Municipal Administration, Directorate of Transport and SP Traffic Police.
Sources in the DMA’s office informed that Additional Director of Municipal Administration had asked the MMC to constitute the traffic management committee upon correspondence from the Director of Transport.
GOACAN Convenor Roland Martins told The Goan that unless the municipal body constitutes the Road safety and traffic management committee, nothing will move on the traffic management front in the city.
“The municipal panels on traffic management indeed give the civic body a platform to tackle local issues plaguing the city’s road safety and traffic management. The panel can help promote Road Safety Patrol (RSP) scheme of the Traffic Police for students of the high schools, higher secondary schools and colleges in the town,” Martins said.
“The panel can further promote the Traffic Warden Scheme of the Traffic Police among citizens and also undertake regular training and other refresher courses for its members from the Directorate of Transport and Traffic Police,” he added.
When The Goan called MMC Chief Officer Y B Tawde to shed light on the constitution of the Road Safety and Traffic Management committee, he admitted that nothing has moved in this direction so far.
“After the issue was brought to my notice sometime back, I have now decided to put the committee in place. As per the composition of the committee, we will induct a number of citizens on the panel so that the committee can set in motion the process of recommending changes in the city’s road safety and traffic problem,” Tawde added.
