PANAJI
Frequent halting of traffic movement by the police to give the right of way for VIP convoys is adding to the cup of woes of residents and commuters in the capital city rendered full with Smart City related work which has shut multiple stretches of intra-city roads over the last couple of weeks.
On Tuesday evening, several commuters were furious that the traffic police personnel halted vehicles at the multi-arm junction at the Panaji Church Square for a good five minutes at the peak hour post office closure.
The action caused an unprecedented traffic logjam and people were seen arguing with the traffic police personnel as to the reason for the interruption.
Normalcy was restored only after the convoy of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant passed through from the Altinho down slope and exited the city via the 'Corte de Oitera' road alongside the Panaji Church.
Several stretches of roads, some crucial for traffic circulation in the capital city -- the road alongside the Panaji police station from the Geeta Bakery junction headed towards the Mandovi river and the stretch on MG Road alongside Don Bosco School right up to the Taj Vivanta junction at St Inez -- are fully shut for traffic for the last couple of weeks choking city traffic, particularly during the peak morning hours between 11 am and 1 pm and also post-office hours after 5.30 pm on Thursday.
The road digging and closures are expected to haunt the capital city at least until March 31, the deadline set by the Centre for completion of all Smart City projects.
