the goan I network
VASCO
With thousands of people visiting the famous Saptah fair, which draws to a close in a few days, many visitors and locals alike have been left wondering why vacant land in the heart of Vasco city, recently acquired from the Dev Damodar Trust, was not used as a parking lot to ease the congestion on roads.
Locals and their elected leaders are, however, hopeful that the prime land can be used as a parking lot throughout the year.
Many of the residents from the port town who spoke to The Goan said the annual Saptah fair attracts a large number of people from all over Goa and causes a surge in vehicles in the port town.
“Motorists from outside Vasco are not aware of parking areas and end up parking their vehicles haphazardly inconveniencing the locals who are already struggling to park their vehicles in Vasco,” mentioned a resident.
“Had the MMC utilised the prime land as parking lot, much of the parking issues could have been resolved during the Saptah. However, it is good that the Mormugao Municipal Council decided to use a large vacant plot at Maimolem for parking of vehicles,” the resident added.
Commenting in the matter, Mormugao MLA Milind Naik said he always felt that authorities should immediately act and use the recently acquired land for parking not only during the Saptah fair, but all through the year to address the city’s frequent struggle with parking space.
“I have discussed the matter recently with Mormugao Deputy Collector Mahadev Arondekar and requested him to use the prime land for parking so that the parking issue in the city is resolved,” the MLA said.
Former MMC chairperson Deepak Naik said during his tenure as chairman, he had supported Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida’s move of acquiring the prime land from a corporate house in Vasco.
“As MMC chairman, I had written to the mamlatdar to hand over possession of the prime land to be used for parking purpose. Probably, the new ruling panel may not have followed up the matter,” he said.
“The Maimolem site came as a relief for motorists to find parking space. In any case, this prime land would be an ideal space for a parking lot.
