South Goa district magistrate had issued order for removal of 32 vehicles; questions galore as DySP Traffic submits fresh list of 32 vehicles
MARGAO
Will the authorities shed light on the proclamation issued by then South Goa District Magistrate, Jyoti Kumari in December 2022 to do away with the vehicles abandoned by the owners along the roads in the commercial capital?
For, it’s now almost a year-and-half since the then district Magistrate had issued the proclamation to rid the city of the eyesore caused by abandoned vehicles. In fact, around 32 vehicles were identified by the Traffic Police Cell as abandoned vehicles before the district Magistrate had issued the proclamation for the removal of the vehicles.
The fate of the district Magistrate’s proclamation and the question whether all the 32 vehicles have been towed away by the owners or forfeited with the State government treasury has come to the fore again. Reason: The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Prabodh Shirwaikar has earlier this month submitted a list of 32 vehicles left abandoned along the city roads, throwing up a question whether the police is seeking a fresh proclamation from the district Magistrate to tow away the abandoned vehicles.
A host of questions have indeed come to the fore following a fresh list of vehicles submitted by the DySP Traffic to the district Magistrate. One, did the authorities dispose of the 32 abandoned vehicles which find a mention in district Magistrate’s proclamation dated December 16, 2022. Whether the fresh list of vehicles identified and submitted to the district Magistrate are totally new vehicles abandoned on the city roads.
As far as the 2022 proclamation is concerned, questions are being raised in official circles whether the owners have towed away all the 32 abandoned vehicles. Or, how many of these 32 vehicles were forfeited in favour of the State government. Whether the authorities had conducted an auction of the abandoned vehicles in the event the owners had failed to tow away the vehicles and how much proceeds of the auction have been forfeited to the State treasury.
When The Goan called up DySP, Traffic Prabodh Shirwaikar to shed light on the 2022 district Magistrate’s proclamation and whether the fresh list of vehicles submitted to the district Magistrate by his office is different from the 2022 list of vehicles, he sought time to find out from the PI Traffic on the list of abandoned vehicles. “May be the fresh list prepared by the Traffic PI is a new one. We will have to check the two lists whether the 2022 list and the fresh list contain different vehicles,” he said.
Shirwaikar also could not shed light whether the 32 abandoned vehicles contained in the 2022 list have been cleared from the roads, saying the matter falls in the domain of the district authorities.
A glance at the December 16, 2022 proclamation issued by the then Magistrate Jyoti Kumari and published in the media on December 28 reveal that the Traffic Department had urged the district Magistrate to initiate action against the abandoned vehicles on the plea that the vehicles have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes causing vector borne diseases resulting in health hazard.
