PORVORIM: Traffic congestion on NH-17 these days, particularly near Hero showroom in Porvorim and further down, is giving a harrowing time to the motorists while travelling from Porvorim to Panaji. Last few days have particularly been nightmarish for the motorists, given the fact that hordes of tourists have arrived in their own vehicles and this has compounded the traffic situation.
On Friday, there were three accidents reported along the same stretch leading to serpentines queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway. The traffic congestion was witnessed throughout the day with office goers and students facing a tough time.
In one instance, a scooter and a bike were involved in a mishap and the injured were shifted to Goa Medical College and Hospital before the police could arrive on the spot of accident to conduct panchanama.
In another mishap, a tourist bus from Gujarat rammed into a four-wheeler near Hero showroom. Further a Maruti van broke down near Secretariat and this led to more chaos.
With heavy traffic flow, even the traffic police posted in Porvorim could hardly do anything to control the chaos on the road. The bridge work has also added to the traffic snarls and it has given rise to dust problem near the site. At noon, around 30 policemen were deployed to control the traffic; however, all through the day the vehicles were moving at a snail’s pace.
An official from traffic department stated that due to heavy rush of tourists from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh the traffic has become chaotic these days.
On Wednesday, the chief minister’s official convoy was caught in the traffic jam on Mandovi bridge besides two 108 ambulances had a tough time in maneuvering through the congested roads. He stated that this will continue till the third Mandovi bridge is not completed.