the goan I network
PANAJI
The return of the traditional Carnival parade back to the original route along the Mandovi river-hugging promenade on the DB Marg triggered massive traffic chaos in the capital city late Saturday evening as all traffic outlets were choked for hours.
There were huge queues of vehicles along most of the roads for hours, especially after sundown when the parade was coming to an end and people were attempting to leave the city. “The floats parade ended at Kala Academy and the floats were on the road at this point the traffic got jammed and movement of vehicles was stopped”, said a top traffic police official.
Long queues of motionless vehicles were seen along the D B Marg itself beyond the float parade route of Patto Bridge to the Kala Academy. All the internal roads were also jammed for at least a couple of hours after sundown. Traffic police were at sea to manage the flow but were seen sweating it out to manage the traffic and managed to restore order a little before 9 pm.
Most of the traffic was diverted through Mala-new Patto Bridge road. Several were seen taking the other outlets to avoid congestion but the quantum of vehicles was so high that no matter which route they took, jams were the order for those hours.
The float parade returned to the DB Marg route this year after the administration shifted it to the Miramar-Dona Paula road last year, precisely to avoid the traffic chaos.
This year too the traffic police had objected to the inner city route and was lobbying hard to keep the parade again on the Miramar-Dona Paula route. However, the CCP which is controlled by Panaji MLA, Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate prevailed upon the administration to return to the old traditional route.
