MARGAO
The South Goa District Road Safety Committee meeting held on Friday discussed several traffic- and road safety-related issues; however, members expressed concern that many problems continue to recur without any visible solutions.
Issues such as roadside vending along State and national highways and illegal parking of vehicles were once again raised, with sources pointing out that these matters feature in almost every meeting but remain unresolved.
Additional Collector Ramesh Gaonkar stated that directions are routinely issued to the concerned departments to implement decisions taken at the meetings, and that compliance reports are reviewed in subsequent meetings.
GOACAN Coordinator Roland Martins reminded officials that district road safety committee meetings are mandated by Supreme Court directions, warning that heads of government agencies could face judicial action for non-compliance or inaction.
One such recurring issue is the parking of heavy vehicles along NH-66 at Navelim and Cuncolim. Despite being repeatedly flagged by consumer activist Lorna Fernandes in successive meetings, the problem persists. Fernandes pointed out that heavy trucks now occupy a significant portion of the highway due to illegal parking, further aggravating traffic hazards.
The presence of vendors along national and State highways and major district roads also figured prominently in the discussion. Sources said earlier directions had been issued to the PWD to take action against roadside vendors, but with little effect.
Compounding the problem is the collection of sopo fees by contractors appointed by municipal councils and panchayats. The meeting was informed that both sopo contractors and local civic bodies continue to collect fees from illegal vendors, despite such vending being prohibited along highways.
The attention of the Additional Collector was also drawn to the practice of vehicle passing being conducted by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Margao directly on the road, leading to traffic congestion and obstruction.
Gaonkar assured that fresh directions would be issued to all concerned authorities to ensure effective implementation of the decisions taken by the district road safety committee.
