MARGAO
Fatorda Congress leaders has petitioned the authorities with a demand for the suspension of traffic enforcement drives against roadside parking in the absence of adequate parking facilities.
In the petition, Congress leaders Melvyn Fernandes and Yogesh Nagvenkar said that residents of Fatorda have been unfairly targeted over the past few days after the traffic police went on a challan spree for traffic violations due to parking on road sides.
While acknowledging that organised traffic flow is essential and that the traffic police department has the mandate to regulate it, they, however, drew their attention to a systemic failure in planning by the PDA and the TCP dept. and the licensing by the MMC that remains the root cause of the current situation. “As a crucial arm of the State Government, it is imperative that the Traffic Police coordinate with planning bodies. A cohesive administration would ensure that building permissions granted by the TCP, the PDAs, and the Municipal Council are based on rigorous Infrastructure Impact Assessment studies. Unfortunately, these departments continue to grant licenses for high-density residential and commercial structures without ensuring the provision of requisite parking spaces”, they said.
They pointed out that citizens are forced to park on roadsides not out of defiance of the law, but out of sheer necessity in the absence of designated public parking zones.
“Penalizing residents for the structural failures of planning authorities is a regressive approach to traffic management. At a time when the cost of living is rising sharply, the imposition of exorbitant fines for "violations" created by poor urban design is an undue torment on the common citizen. We note that on DB Road in Panaji, enforcement against "No Parking" violations by casino customers is overlooked, presumably due to the practical difficulties of enforcement. We request that the same sympathetic consideration and practical lens be applied to the residents of Fatorda”, the petition stated.
While insisting that the current drive against roadside parking on hold until the government provides viable parking alternatives, the Congress leader urged the traffic police to formally address the TCP, PDA and the MMC, demanding a moratorium on indiscriminate building permissions that compound traffic congestion without Impact Assessment Studies on Road Infrastructure. “Enforcement without infrastructure cannot be termed as regulation. It is harassment. We trust you will act in the interest of fair governance”, they added.
