Re: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009
Valmiki, I beg to differ on your statement -- "we can't blame just politicians and business folks for all the wrongs in Goa." The power of the Goan population ends, once they have cast their ballot on election day. They are absolutely powerless, once a guy is elected. Then he/she takes control of everything and keeps his core group of people happy and is ensured re-election. Of course, that is the general criteria across all democracies, but the common man does not get impacted as much as one can see in Goa. Why should the Goa government push for the Vasco-Dona Paula sealink, when it does not have a basic infrastructure in place to provide water,electricity and cooking gas, without interruptions? The streets and roads are clogged with traffic. There is flooding on the streets during monsoons. Nobody looks at the day to day problems faced by the common man. I might be away from Goa, but I have tried to keep up with whatever that is going on and I have seen no improvement in infrastructure at all. While crores of rupees will be spent on this sealink, nothing, absolutely nothing is being done to improve the water and electricity supply. Water supply is a constant problem for many in Panjim. I have seen the traffic congestion in Panjim and Margao. I saw a lot of positive comments about the sealink from the business community, but none asked or talked about the infrastructure projects. And with the size and scope of such a large project, I can guarantee you that there will corruption and many of the politicians will be benefit. The Bandra-Worli sealink was a requirement for Mumbai and it can be considered as an infrastructural project. Can anyone justify the proposed Vasco-Dona Paula sealink as an infrastructural investment? We have had the Mandovi bridge collapse and the Zuari bridge is in tatters and here we are planning a bridge at the mouth of the Arabian sea! Naguesh Bhatcar sgbhat...@hotmail.com > From: valmi...@gmail.com > To: goanet@lists.goanet.org > Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:29:05 +0530 > Subject: Re: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, > 2009 > > Naguesh, > > Let's be honest, we can't blame just politicians and business folks for > all the wrongs in Goa. Having lived long in Canada, you may be just a > wee bit out of synch with the ground realities here. Businessmen are > in business for profits, not charity. Politicians are an altogether different > story. But who elects them? > > It is us, the people who live in Goa. Unless they change, nothing else in > Goa will. > > Regards, v > >
Re: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009
Naguesh, Let's be honest, we can't blame just politicians and business folks for all the wrongs in Goa. Having lived long in Canada, you may be just a wee bit out of synch with the ground realities here. Businessmen are in business for profits, not charity. Politicians are an altogether different story. But who elects them? It is us, the people who live in Goa. Unless they change, nothing else in Goa will. Regards, v - Original Message - From: "Naguesh Bhatcar" To: Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 8:21 PM Subject: Re: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009 Valmiki, Goan politicians and business folks are more keen on such grandiose projects as the Vasco-Dona Paula sealink, instead of trying to solve traffic issues you mentioned in Margao or an uninterrupted supply of water and electricity to the Goan population. Isn't the current CM elected by the people from Margao, itself? I read an article in the Navhind Times that indicated as to how all the business community was endorsing the sealink, instead of trying to fix issues that affect the day to day quality of life. Instead of that sealink, they can build highways and bypasses, to not bring in all the traffic into the city of Margao. I have seen that in the western world, all cities and towns are bypassed by ring roads. This not only ensure smooth flow of traffic on the highways but also reduces the congestion on city streets. Margao is a city/town that forms the heart of South Goa and has traffic flowing in from every conceivable direction. A ring road to divert traffic around the city could definitely ease Margao's traffic woes. Naguesh Bhatcar From: valmi...@gmail.com To: goanet@lists.goanet.org Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:48:30 +0530 Subject: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009 MARGAO'S "SUFFOCATED" ROADS - 2 By Valmiki Faleiro Intra-state private passenger buses are the other 50% cause of traffic congestion on Margao's thoroughfares. Don't take my word on this. The next time buses go on strike, see how traffic glides, ever so smoothly! Out of the KTC terminus, buses crawl along arterial but two-laned roads into town. They hamper traffic flow, if not holding it up altogether with sudden stops, often in the middle of the road, to take in passengers. One can't argue with bus drivers. They are privileged citizens. They routinely pay the police and RTO. You and I don't.
Re: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009
Valmiki, Goan politicians and business folks are more keen on such grandiose projects as the Vasco-Dona Paula sealink, instead of trying to solve traffic issues you mentioned in Margao or an uninterrupted supply of water and electricity to the Goan population. Isn't the current CM elected by the people from Margao, itself? I read an article in the Navhind Times that indicated as to how all the business community was endorsing the sealink, instead of trying to fix issues that affect the day to day quality of life. Instead of that sealink, they can build highways and bypasses, to not bring in all the traffic into the city of Margao. I have seen that in the western world, all cities and towns are bypassed by ring roads. This not only ensure smooth flow of traffic on the highways but also reduces the congestion on city streets. Margao is a city/town that forms the heart of South Goa and has traffic flowing in from every conceivable direction. A ring road to divert traffic around the city could definitely ease Margao's traffic woes. Naguesh Bhatcar sgbhat...@hotmail.com > From: valmi...@gmail.com > To: goanet@lists.goanet.org > Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:48:30 +0530 > Subject: [Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009 > > > > > MARGAO'S "SUFFOCATED" ROADS - 2 > By Valmiki Faleiro > > Intra-state private passenger buses are the other 50% cause of traffic > congestion on > Margao's thoroughfares. Don't take my word on this. The next time buses go on > strike, see how traffic glides, ever so smoothly! > > Out of the KTC terminus, buses crawl along arterial but two-laned roads into > town. > They hamper traffic flow, if not holding it up altogether with sudden stops, > often in the > middle of the road, to take in passengers. One can't argue with bus drivers. > They are > privileged citizens. They routinely pay the police and RTO. You and I don't. <<>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > > P.S.: With this, dear reader, *All-'n'-Sundry* takes your leave. This is the > last piece > for now. Thank you for reading and, as the French say, 'Au revoir.' > Inshallah! (ENDS) >
[Goanet] Margao's "suffocated" roads-2: HERALD(Goa), Nov 15, 2009
MARGAO'S "SUFFOCATED" ROADS - 2 By Valmiki Faleiro Intra-state private passenger buses are the other 50% cause of traffic congestion on Margao's thoroughfares. Don't take my word on this. The next time buses go on strike, see how traffic glides, ever so smoothly! Out of the KTC terminus, buses crawl along arterial but two-laned roads into town. They hamper traffic flow, if not holding it up altogether with sudden stops, often in the middle of the road, to take in passengers. One can't argue with bus drivers. They are privileged citizens. They routinely pay the police and RTO. You and I don't. Private bus crews are a law unto themselves. Not long ago a bus driver, questioned by the Salcete Deputy Collector outside the district collectorate, physically abused the latter. Old discipline is dead, together with the likes of Dy. Director of Transport, Venkatesh Kamat and Traffic Police ASI, Mario Valaradares. Both didn't hesitate to pull out an uncouth driver and give him a little physical treatment in full public view. Crawling into the heart of town, buses can halt for a minute to pick/disembark passengers by the Salcete Comunidades building (and near the two Jain temples at Pajifond for Quepem-bound buses.) But they linger at will. Out of town, they turn into speeding monsters, racing with competition, often killing or maiming people. Traffic policemen are invariably present at both points, but they are not there to regulate buses. They are there to collect a "hafta" from every bus exiting Margao. How can one expect the poor constable to shoo away the hand that feeds him? One solution to this menace is to preclude private buses from entering town. All south and southeast-bound buses can be diverted via a road, long proposed in the Margao ODP, linking the Ravindra Bhavan junction to the Eastern Bypass, by the southern banks of the two Borda lakes. Instead of constructing this vital link on priority basis, people's heritage walls and houses are currently being destroyed to widen the existing (and parallel) St. Joaquim road! This diversion would entail an alternate arrangement for passengers from the KTC bus terminal to all halts previously covered by private intra-state buses in the town. This can be done with a round-robin KTC minibus shuttle service. The State must provide this service either free or at a heavily subsidized rate. Commuters must not be made to pay for the sins of private bus operators and law enforcement agencies. No thought has been spared, in our brand of democracy where numbers count, to the largest segment of road users: pedestrians. Crossing a busy street has now become a daytime nightmare to able-bodied pedestrians, forget the unaided aged and infirm. This even at notified pedestrian crossings, where zebra lines are clearly visible to oncoming motorists. Motorists, before being issued a driving licence, are supposed to learn that pedestrians at a zebra crossing have a first right of road use. The opposite prevails in Goa! Pedestrians are not privileged to instruction on prudent road usage practices nor need a "walking licence" to use a road. Most roads are also bereft of pavements. People are forced to walk along treacherous roads and unfortunate ones who do that with their backs to oncoming traffic often get mowed down. Re-paint existing zebra crossings and provide more in Margao's central commercial area. Most of all, stiffly penalize motorists to create awareness about a pedestrian's right at a zebra crossing. In Margao's central area, the roads around New Market have also long cried to be a pedestrian-only zone during daytime. As a well-meaning friend (and one-time municipal colleague), I would urge Goa's current "Aam Aadmi" Chief Minister to remember the wise words of Goa's second Lieutenant Governor, M R Sachdev. In his first address to Goa's first Legislative Assembly, at its very first sitting, he had said, "No amount of development is worth anything unless the man in the street feels that the administration is being run in the interest and for the benefit of the people at large." P.S.: With this, dear reader, *All-'n'-Sundry* takes your leave. This is the last piece for now. Thank you for reading and, as the French say, 'Au revoir.' Inshallah! (ENDS) The above article appeared in the Herald, Goa, edition of November 15, 2009 *Comments welcome at valmi...@gmail.com
