PANAJI
The reopening of schools after two-month long summer vacation was marred by chaotic scenes at the integrated school complex at Cujira, Bambolim.
The traffic congestion, which had become a regular feature near the school complex, spilled on to the highway. Being the first day of the school, most of the parents had come to drop their children and parked the vehicles haphazardly, which was one of the main reasons for congestion.
Secondly, as there is no ring road connecting the Cujira Complex to the main road, vehicles used the same road for entry as well as exit which led to chaotic scenes even on the main highway.
Presently, with three schools “ Mushtifund HS, Dr, K B Hedgewar HS and Our Lady of Rosary HS, Miramar, two higher secondary schools and one college being shifted to Cujira, the number of students have increased to over 5000.
Speaking to The Goan Everyday, a parent who had come to drop his daughter said, “The main problem is that we have to turn our vehicles here itself and there is no enough space. Additionally, some parents parked their vehicles in any possible manner. At least the traffic cops have to be deployed here so that parents are not allowed to park their vehicles and instead they can drop their children to school and leave the place.”
Anticipating the chaotic scenes, Dr K B Hedgewar HS had advised its teachers to reach their workplace by 7.15 am. “To solve traffic congestion, construction of ring road is a must. Secondly we had anticipated this condition so we had even called our teachers at 7.15 am,” said Vilas Satarkar, Headmaster, Dr K B Hedgewar HS.
He also lamented that despite following up with
the contractor for the last two months, the work on
the drains has not been completed.
To address the traffic congestion issue, Traffic Cell has decided to deploy additional traffic personnel at the Complex on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Committee appointed under Former Panaji MLA Sidharth Kuncalienker to identify and resolve issues plaguing the
Complex, has already held two meetings. They are also exploring the possibility of proposing construction of another road to the complex via Merces.
“Right now we are focusing more on infrastructure requirements. Simultaneously, we will also look at creating sporting facilities,” said Kuncalienker.
“We have received the NOC from BSNL to construct the missing link connecting Cujira internal road to the main highway. The congestion which happened today was may be because it was the first day of the school,” he said.
