the goan I network
MARGAO
Opening of the Margao-Mungul stretch of the long-delayed ring road project has helped ease traffic congestion in the commercial capital, with motorists preferring the road to enter and exit the city without travelling on the congested Old Market-Hospicio-MMC
Square road.
The PWD, however, has a task cut out to ensure the safety and security of the motorists travelling on the ring road. It has been months now since the ring road was thrown open for vehicular traffic, but the kilometre-long stretch has no provision for street illumination. Not a single street lamp has been installed on the stretch of the ring road, with sources saying that anti-socials descend on the road after sunset to consume alcohol and carry out other nefarious activities.
A local resident informed that they often see men and women descending on the road in vehicles and stay put on the road till late evening. In fact, when The Goan team was travelling on the road on Wednesday evening at around 5.30 pm, a group of boys and girls were seen consuming beer and alcohol in their vehicle.
Incidentally, local residents pointed out that motorists avoid the ring road late in the night fearing that they run the risk of being targeted by anti-socials under the cover of darkness. PWD officials were not available to offer comments on the absence of illumination facility on the stretch. The ring road has come in handy for students from the village studying in the educational institutions in and around Comba area of Margao as they need not travel to the heart of the town to get to their schools and colleges.
Interestingly, while the Mungul-Comba stretch of the ring road has been opened after many years, the stretch of the ring road from Pedda near the footbridge to Cine Lata still remains a distant dream.
The ring road was proposed way back in the late 70s by MMC, but actual work on the project began in the 90s and the last decade.
