Times of India | 1 month ago | 21-05-2022 | 01:57 am
Panaji: People using the Zuari bridge on Friday were put through tremendous hardship due to traffic jams with the usual 45-minute between Panaji and Margao taking them three hours and more. Some attributed the recurring problem to the lanes converging into single lanes on the Zuari bridge while others blamed police for poor traffic management. Traffic jams were seen on either side of the Zuari bridge — Cortalim and Agasaim — with rains worsening the situation. People brought out their four-wheelers instead of two-wheelers adding to the congestion. What aggravated the already existing problem was a car that had a tyre puncture right in the middle of the bridge in the morning making it necessary to call in a crane to clear the way. Later in the day there was an accident involving a four-wheeler and Kadamba bus where the party didn’t agree and wanted a panchnama to be filed. The spot was cleared later and passengers shifted to another bus. People appealed to chief minister Pramod Sawant via social media for a solution to the Cortalim-Agasaim traffic mess. “@DrPramodPSawant We didn’t mind when the petrol price crossed 105. But what the point in wasting 4/5 litres in traffic jam? #trafficmanagement #Goa #Megablock,” one netizen tweeted. “@Goapolice1091 huge traffic jam at Zuari bridge due to mismanagement by policemen stationed there @DrPramodPSawant @goacm @DGP_Goa,” another tweeted. DYSP traffic, South Goa, Dharmesh Angle said traffic police were on their toes trying to address the problem. He said there was additional strain on the traffic as people who otherwise travel by two-wheelers brought out their four-wheelers due to the incessant rains. The tyre puncture on the bridge and the accident stopped traffic as a result of which vehicles kept piling up on either end of the bridge, he said. At any given time 35 to 55 vehicles pass over the Zuari bridge every minute, he said, adding that, in the event of an accident, the stoppage of traffic even for five minutes has cascading effects on traffic on both sides of the bridge and this backlog continues. A government official told TOI that there is no solution to the traffic problem as multiple lanes on either side of the bridge converge into a single lane on Zuari bridge. “The bridge carpet can only allow one lane. The bottleneck is Zuari bridge itself. People will require to have patience till the new bridge is opened,” he said. Meanwhile, traffic police have permitted bridge work to take place on either side of the bridge, which may affect traffic, only during non peak hours, Angle said. He said the contractor has been asked not to carry out any work that will block the maximum width of the route during peak hours. Traffic police have found that the majority of jams take place on Saturday when officer goers leave for their native places and when families get out for the weekend. “It’s unfortunate that the government has not been able to find a solution and address the plight of the commuters on this stretch for the last four years. Bridges are built the world over but the commuters are not made to suffer in such a manner,” one commuter said.
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