MAPUSA: Over the last one decade, Morod in Mapusa has turned into a prime zone, with government offices, private offices, supermarkets and shopping complexes, however, as no parking facility has been put in place, traffic chaos has become the order of the day in the area.
Inconsiderate and haphazard parking, especially, of four wheelers, is very conspicuous in the area.
The area can be considered as an extension of the municipal market area – it has turned into a shopping hub in the town with big shopping complexes of apparels, furniture, foot wears etc.
The government complex in the area houses important offices. There are more than 10 government offices, including that of sub registrar, excise department, which draw a large number of people every day.
Besides even banking institutions have set shops here. However, a proper parking facility is found wanting in the area.
There are some parking spaces in the area but are not open to public, being private.
Even though the Mapusa Municipality managed to widen the roads, it is now becoming a disadvantage with the visitors to the area parking their vehicles along the roads throwing all caution to the wind.
Double parking by four wheelers along the entire stretch of around 300-metre road near Poshak, throughout the day, is proving to be a great hindrance to the free flow of traffic.
The four wheeler drivers face a hard time in parking their vehicles in the town in the absence of a proper parking facility, and Morod offers them a ‘suitable parking area.’
Some commercial establishments, without a proper notification from the collectorate office, have cordoned off the front areas, thereby preventing parking there.
Even though the traffic cell has installed no parking signboards along the roads, still parking is done with no inhibition.
Raising concern over the haphazard parking, Francis Soares, a local said that “it is a regular feature in this Morod area. Traffic congestion results due to haphazard parking of the vehicles on both sides of the road.”
“Parking a vehicle is not a problem, but haphazard parking creates problem. And, it is the high time that the issue is resolved,” added Soares.
Another local Sirish Divukar said that “as there is no proper parking facility in the town, especially, for four wheelers, the people drive their vehicles this side of Mapusa to park them. The government should set up dedicated parking facilities in various part of the town so that the parking problem is eliminated.”
It may be recalled that during a council meeting when the pay parking issue was being discussed, the local councillor Sudhir Kandolkar had proposed to take NOCs from the builders, who have come up with projects in Morod, and having ample opens spaces, and create a pay parking facilities so that traffic congestion does not occur.
When contacted, Kandolkar, who is also a local resident, said that “we have been trying our best to create parking spaces wherever it is possible in Morod. We are taking NOCs from the land owners and creating parking spaces.”
He hoped that multi-level parking at the existing bus stand would resolve the parking problem in the town but until then “we have to be vigilant and wherever possible should convert available area into a parking space.”
