It is raining at 10 pm on a Saturday evening atCortalim Junction. The only sign of life is the high mast tower spewing light. This reporter stood alone. “The lastbus went just went away”, says a friendly policemen in the kiosk enroute ZuariBridge. How does one travel to Vasco? He shrugs oughhis shoulder helplessly.
For a State, that struggles to be lively and active24x7, Cortalim is the best showcase of what can go wrong if you don’t have avehicle of your own. Cortalim has no taxi standthat works round the clock, no motorcycle pilot not even a Public Phone Booth.The bus shelters are dark and dingy andoften, you share space with a stray cow or a rabid dog. On a bad day, snakes andscorpions too might creep in as these shelters share space with.
What is bizarre is that Cortalim is not only midwaybetween Panjim and Margao but also Vasco. The busy Vasco-Ponda corridor hastruckers passing through the night but if you are a woman, a lone Goa Policeconstable with a lathi does not instill much confidence.
“We did try to develop Cortalim as an active hub butall efforts to do so drew a blank” says former Cortalim Sarpanch AnthonyMiranda. No wonder that even a remote eatery does not exist here.
It is a nightmare if you are alone and on your feet inthe heart of Goa, at Cortalim.
