MAPUSA
After the re-opening of schools for the new academic year, the chaotic scenes of traffic jams have come back to haunt motorists at the key court junction in Mapusa while the much-needed traffic signals have failed to come up at the junction.
The failure of the agency to fix traffic signals at the junction clearly shows the lack of interest and urgency of the Mapusa civic body to deliver basic needs to its citizens.
The Mapusa Municipal Council had passed a resolution to install signals at the junction almost a year back but apart from giving assurances, the civic body has failed to deliver the crucial facility.
In the absence of signals, managing traffic, especially during school hours – when schools start in the morning and when schools end at noon – becomes a herculean task at the site.
With five schools and a college and other crucial buildings like the court, municipal council and the district hospital in the vicinity, the court junction becomes one of the busiest intersections in Mapusa.
On the first day of the reopening of schools, a lone traffic police and a traffic warden were struggling to control and monitor the movement of traffic at the four-road key junction at the court.
Several citizens have censured the civic body for failing to keep its word and install the traffic signals on priority at the junction.
“It’s such a shame that the municipal council cannot ensure that the signals are installed before the re-opening of the schools. There are so many schools surrounding the junction which puts the students and parents into immense difficulty. They had almost a year to do the job,” said Santosh Naik, a resident of Cunchelim, Mapusa.
Some of the councillors from the ruling group also admit that the council has failed to live up to the expectations of the people on various issues.
When confronted by The Goan, Chairperson of Mapusa Priya Mishal admitted there was a delay in installing the signals but assured to fix it by next week.
“The agency is supposed to install traffic signals in six different areas in town. But we have requested them to install the signals at the court junction on top priority. By next week the signals should be up and running,” Mishal said.
