MARGAO
Guess the number of challans issued by the Margao Traffic Cell to vehicle owners parking vehicles at unauthorised and no parking areas of the commercial capital.
A whopping 3,000 challans must have been issued so far this year, if the in-charge of Margao Traffic Cell, PI Gautam Salunke is to be believed. Traffic personnel equipped with clamps moving across the city to lock cars in no parking areas is a common sight in the heart of the commercial town.
The drive against unauthorised vehicular parking, however, has thrown up a host of questions “ with challans galore, has this drive against illegal parking brought about a solution to the parking woes plaguing the city, and will the ground reality act as a wakeup call for the local Margao Municipal Council in particular and the government in general to resolve the burning issue on priority?
Consider this, When a city father was arguing with a traffic violator for illegally parking his vehicle on the road in front of the Margao Municipal building, the car owner shot back a pertinent question to the councilor “ what has the Margao Municipal done over the years to provide basic parking amenities to the visitors to the commercial hub?
Indeed, the question raised by the traffic violator should hopefully open the eyes of the Margao Municipal Council and the powers that be controlling the civic body to set in motion the process of building parking lots in the commercial capital.
Take note, the heart of Margao Town is blessed with at least three open spaces, the old bus stand, the old fish market and the pick-up stand which could have been exploited to set up multi-level parking lots in order to address the burning parking issue.
Sadly, all these three open spaces have not been exploited for vehicular parking over the years for reasons best known to the Powers that be. Even the multi-level parking proposed by the Margao Municipality behind the Municipal building at the old fish market has failed to take off for the last eight years. After the MMC had miserably failed to build the multi-level parking lot for around seven years after laying the foundation stone in 2015, the civic body has now roped in the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) to build the parking lot.
Traffic officials, in private admit that challaning of vehicles parked in unauthorised areas in the city is not a solution to the burning issue. “A permanent solution lies in the development of multi-level parking lots at the open spaces lying vacant in the heart of the town,” remarked a traffic official.
The official warned that Margao would face a major parking problem if work on the proposed multi-level parking lot does not start immediately. “Even if the MMC or GSUDA start work on the multi-level parking project, it would take minimum one year or a year and half to complete the project. If there’s no parking amenities in the commercial capital in 2023, just imagine a situation in 2024 or in 2025 with more and more vehicles added on the roads every year,” the official added.
