Heavy traffic, bumper-to-bumper jams, and congestion continue to plague commercial capital; with Christmas and New Year approaching, traffic is expected to worsen, causing anxiety among motorists and traffic police
The 11-km Margao Western bypass road ready and complete in all respects. Traffic barred from entering the bypass road at Benaulim as the road is not formally commissioned.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
For how long will Saxttikars in particular and people from South Goa in general have to wait for the inauguration of the Rs 482 crore Margao western bypass to pave way for the opening of the 11-km bypass for heavy vehicular traffic?
Or, are the citizens and motorist alike destined to wait for the bypass inauguration before the VVIPs commission the road bypass, from Navelim to Verna, on the National Highway-66?
Well, with traffic choking the commercial capital and its outskirts, literally the order of the day, besides bumper-to-bumper traffic on the eastern bypass, motorists pose a simple question – why is the western bypass not thrown open for vehicular traffic when the road is complete and ready in all respects since a fortnight ago?
This question assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that vehicles have started entering the State, especially from the State’s southern border ahead of the festive season. And, the entry of outstation vehicles, bringing hordes of domestic tourists, is only set to increase manifold on the eve of Christmas and New Year.
Goa Traffic Police too seemed anxiously waiting for the government to throw open the western bypass for vehicular traffic at the earliest before the start of Christmas and New Year festivities in view of the rising number of vehicles entering Margao.
Consider this. After the 2.5-km balance stretch of the bypass from Benaulim to Seraulim, near the wholesale fish market cleared the road safety audit around a fortnight ago, reports did the rounds that the bypass will be tentatively commissioned by the government on Goa Liberation Day.
Earlier, there were reports that the bypass will be inaugurated at the hands of Union Minister for Road and Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari during his visit to Goa earlier this month, but the visit could not fructify in view of the ongoing Parliament Session.
The emerging situation has posed an acid test for the Pramod Sawant government as well as Saxtti lone Minister Aleixo Sequeira how to go about the situation, whether to throw open the bypass for vehicular traffic immediately or go for the formal commissioning of the bypass at a later date.
PWD-NH officials in the know informed that the road bypass is ready in all respects and is waiting for the government to commission the projects. “Work on the road is complete in all respects. Even the illumination is put in place. All that is needed is the formal inauguration of the bypass,” remarked a PWD official.
A senior traffic police officer in private said the bypass inauguration will give a huge relief for the commercial capital and the eastern bypass. “Since the bypass is not opened for traffic, traffic enters Navelim and Margao to proceed towards Panaji. The opening of the bypass will give respect to the traffic in the city,” the official added.
The western bypass is part commissioned till date, along the Navelim-Benaulim stretch and the Nuvem-Verna stretch. The 2.5 km balance stretch, between Benaulim and Seraulim, remains to be opened, which would pave way for the plying of heavy vehicles on the bypass without entering Margao or the eastern bypass.
