'No Parking' in front of Ponda fire station
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PONDA
Fire and rescue tenders will now get better access to enter and exit the Ponda fire station, with the South Goa District Magistrate notifying a 'no parking zone' in front of Ponda fire station on either side of the main gate of the fire station.
Sources from the Ponda fire station have acknowledged that a recent report in The Goan highlighting the issue had expedited repeated requests to declare the area outside the fire station as a 'no-parking zone'.
In a notification made public on Thursday, the South Goa District Magistrate has notified a no-parking zone “in front of Ponda Fire station on either side of the main gate for a distance of 50 meters in Ponda city.”
Accordingly, 'no parking' traffic signages and cautionary signboards demarcating the location for the visibility of road users for the purpose of regulating motor vehicle traffic will be installed outside the fire station.
This notification will be a major relief to the fire station, as stationary vehicles had impeded the movement of fire tenders to and from the station.
It may be recalled that The Goan had highlighted the hindrance to fire tenders due to parking of vehicles in front of the fire station.
Speaking to The Goan, Ponda Fire Officer Gil Souza, who has received a transfer and will return to the Margao fire station, expressed happiness their efforts to prohibit parking outside the fire station had finally borne fruit.
“We had written to the authorities to take measures in this regard, but the matter had been pending till now. Though I will return to the Margao fire station, I am happy that our correspondence has helped ensure that fire and rescue tenders will now have unrestricted access to and from the fire station,” he said.
Sources from fire station admitted that their letters to authorities concerned had earlier met with little success in the past and acknowledged that a report in The Goan had expedited moves to declare the area outside the fire station as a 'no-parking zone'.
It may be recalled that Suraj Gawade (21) from Mandrem had died on the spot in front of Ponda fire station on May 21, 2014, after he was knocked down by a fire tender while he was proceeding on his two-wheeler towards Panaji.
At the time, the fire tender driver had insisted that he was unable to notice the youth simply because heavy vehicles parked near the gate had obstructed his vision.
The fire station had affixed a small signboard on the gate requesting motorists “not to turn/park their vehicles near the gate in order to provide clear and unobstructed passage to fire units”, but it had been virtually ignored.
