the goan I network
PANAJI
While the traffic police makes out managing traffic and traffic jams on an average day on the national highway which links Panjim with Margao to be a Herculean effort, with multiple 3-5 hour long waits for commuters on the route in 2019, New Year’s eve saw a surprising lack of chaos.
With not a single hold-up reported, despite multiple New Year’s eve parties organised across the state, commuters maintained it was easier to traverse the route on December 31, than on many other excruciatingly painful days.
Unfortunately though, one fatal road accident was reported at Dona Paula where one motorcyclist lost his life, SP (traffic) Dinraj Govekar said.
Govekar also put down the otherwise smooth flow of traffic to the elaborate traffic arrangements made by the police on the occasion. “During New Year Celebrations elaborate traffic arrangements were made throughout the State of Goa, specially on the National Highways and along the coastal belt,” Govekar said.
He also said that 97 motorists were booked for driving under the influence of alcohol. Meanwhile, no fatal/serious accidents were reported on the National Highways or along the coastal belt.
The smooth flow of traffic on the highway on New Year’s eve comes as a huge relief for commuters, who in addition to the usual delays on account of the construction work on the route, faced humongous problems on at least 10-11 instances in 2019.
The police put down the most recent major jams in November last year to the increased traffic on account of IFFI.
