the goan I network
MAPUSA
From unauthorised parking of bikes along the bus bay to garbage at the entrance and exit points of the Mapusa bus-stand, GOACAN in a joint inspection with district officials discovered several irregularities at the principal bus-stand which caters to seven constituencies in Bardez.
“The pay parking contractor has not displayed rates as required even as the attendants were collecting fees without wearing proper uniforms and rate cards. Many times consumers are overcharged,” said Roland Martins, a road safety activist and coordinator of GOACAN.
A team of officials of nine government departments along with Martins conducted a joint inspection of the Mapusa bus-stand under the aegis of the District Road Safety Council.
Martins pointed out that waste dumped at the entrance and the exit of the bus-stand emitted a stink besides depicting a poor image of the city.
“The bus-stand is left open during the nights as a result of which people and even animals loiter or sleep in the open spaces. The walls of the bus-stand are decorated with ‘paan’ spit while open spaces are stinking as people ease in the open,” the GOACAN coordinator pointed out.
The unauthorised parking of bikes in the bus bay which resulted in hardships to consumers, especially senior citizens, was also brought to the attention of the officials.
During the inspection, it was found that many kiosk operators on the bus-stand have created unauthorised barriers/enclosures behind their kiosks which could be used to store illegal items like tobacco products.
It was also found that KTCL has failed to demarcate boundaries of the bus-stand resulting in unauthorised activities being carried out like sale of fruits, tobacco products and even parking of bikes.
“This has resulted in ambiguity in terms of responsibility of enforcement as well as putting the consumers at risk as deficiency of service cannot be pin pointed,” Martins said.
It was also found that entry and exit of the bus-stand have huge gates which are not used and are actually a hindrance and an eyesore. Also, there was no CCTV cameras and fire-extinguishers installed at the bus-stand.
A request was made to review all signages installed within the bus-stand to ensure that they were properly worded and have the backing of law.
Officials concerned have assured to look into the matter and find remedy to various irregularities and deficiency in service at the bus-stand.
