MARGAO
Traffic signals installed at the busy Bolshe circle road junction, Gogol on the eastern bypass left defunct for want of maintenance have put the lives of motorists and pedestrians at risk and exposed them to accidents at the busy junction.
For, the signals have been lying dead for the last couple of months and neither is the junction manned by the Men-in-uniform for want of manpower. What has raised serious questions is the absence of intervention by government agencies, including the PWD, police and civic body to repair the signals considering the Bolshe traffic junction plays host to heavy traffic, including the traffic plying on the National Highway. Motorists and residents wonder whether the government would step in to regulate traffic on the busy road only after the junction is hit by a major tragedy.
Blame it on government apathy or indifference of the Men-in-uniform or the civic body, the traffic signals have been craving attention for the last 2-3 months.
Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that the traffic signals have been left unattended purely over the question of maintenance. For, the traffic signals installed around half a decade ago under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have no Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for the moment to look after the upkeep of the signals.
Police sources informed that the traffic signals at the Bolshe junction have outlived their utility with the cables and other equipment damaged beyond repairs. The traffic signals have thrown up another moot question “ whether the Margao civic body is mandated to look after the maintenance of public utility projects executed under the CSR or MPLAD scheme.
When a delegation of residents led by BJP leaders Sneha Bhagwat, Anthony Barbosa and others called on the Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar with a plea to repair the traffic signal lights at the Bolshe junction, the civic body chief said that projects executed under CSR and MPLAD scheme are dumped on the MMC without a study on the financial implications and funding.
“My information suggests that it may cost Rs 7-8 lakh to repair the traffic signals at the Bolshe junction. The MMC has been paying the electric bills of the signal lights at the Bolshe and Old market circles. I do not know whether the MMC will be in a position to address the issue,” he said while promising to place the matter before the council for a decision.
The chairperson may have his reasons on why the civic body may not be in a position to fund the maintenance of the traffic signals, with Shirodkar saying his main focus is on revenue recovery to pay the salary bill pegged at Rs 2.5 crore. The unusual situation may throw up a host of questions, including that about whether the commuters have to fend for themselves at the busy Bolshe circle and risk their lives for no fault of theirs.
Says Dr Sneha Bagwat: “Since the time the traffic signals have remained dead, the circles have witnessed a host of minor accidents. It is time the authorities wake up and take measures to avoid accidents.”
BJP ST leader Anthony Barbosa echoed similar sentiments. “The Bolshe circle is affecting the road users from Curtorim, Raia, Borda, Margao and Housing Board and neighbouring areas. The heavy traffic plying at the junction and the absence of traffic regulation has put the lives of the road users to risk,” he said.
No manpower to spare to regulate traffic at Bolshe circle: Official
MARGAO
Guess how is the Margao traffic cell regulating traffic at the busy and congested Bolshe traffic circle with the signals left defunct in the last 2-3 months?
The traffic junction has been virtually left unmanned for want of manpower, with commuters left with no option but to fend for themselves at the busy junction for want of regulation.
Inquiries by The Goan revealed that the Margao traffic cell has expressed its inability to deploy personnel at the Bolshe circle given the acute manpower shortage. The traffic cell is believed to have requisitioned manpower to regulate traffic at the busy KTC-old market circle road given the ongoing sewerage works.
“We have no manpower to spare to regulate traffic at the Bolshe circle. After deploying staff at the KTC-old market circle, the remaining staff is deployed at sensitive points in the city,” informed a traffic official.
The official added: “The traffic signals is a dire need at the Bolshe traffic signals. The signals had helped to regulate traffic on the busy eastern bypass. It’s time the signals are repaired at the earliest.”
The official further informed that the Traffic cell has written umpteen letters to the Margao civic body and other authorities for early restoration of the Bolshe traffic signals, but in vain.
CCTV cameras set up under MPLAD scheme lie defunt
MARGAO
If the traffic signals at the Bolshe traffic circle under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) have been left defunct, the Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras installed under the MPLAD scheme of South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha has met a similar fate in the commercial capital.
Almost all the 70-odd CCTV cameras set up under Sardinha’s MPLAD scheme in 2013 are lying defunct in the city for want of maintenance. While the local civic body is mandated to look after the upkeep of MPLAD projects as per the norms since the projects are implemented based on the local bodies' resolution, crores of rupees of MPLAD funds spent on the CCTV project in Margao have gone into the drain.
After the murder of young city jeweller Swapnil Walke in broad daylight two years ago, the Margao municipality attempted to revive the CCTV cameras but succeeded only partially after around 23 cameras were revived out of the 70-odd cameras.
Sadly, two years down the lane, none of the CCTV cameras are functioning in the city, as the MMC initiative to revive the cameras under CSR has failed to evoke any response.
Incidentally, the Margao civic body has again decided to approach the Rajya Sabha MP for funding of the CCTV project, notwithstanding that its failure on the maintenance front has left the surveillance defunct.
