SAMIR UMARYE BICHOLIM: Commissioned in 2015 and that too with minimal staff, the Bicholim Traffic Cell has been managing traffic in Bicholim and Sattari. But to add to its woes, half of its personnel were transferred recently, leaving the remaining staff overburdened.
According to sources, besides Bicholim and Sattari, Sanquelim and Valpoi too come under its jurisdiction, though a police inspector was appointed recently. “ There are lots of traffic violations in Bicholim as no one bothers to follow the rules. Even the traffic police are helpless due to the staff crunch and cannot regulate such a big area,” Tejash Khedekar, a resident said. “ People feel that the government should increase the traffic cell’s staff strength. What is the use of a traffic cell, if it has not staff to manage Bicholim and Sattari areas,” Khedekar claimed. Bicholim Traffic Cell incharge Sudesh Narvekar admitted that the cell was facing a staff crunch. “ We have to manage three municipalities and over 30 panchayats. With just 60 staff, it is not possible to manage these areas,” Narvekar complained adding, “ Despite this, we are trying our best to control the traffic congestion. Through a drive we have booked over 1000 cases of traffic violations and in cases where minor children were involved we also called their parents to the police station.” “ We have also tried to bring about awareness among the people and are in touch with the municipalities for necessary support,” he informed adding, “ We have also suggested a zebra crossing and more signboards in the town.” According to information, there were 60 personnel deployed at the Traffic Cell, but last week around 30 were transferred to other police stations including Mapusa, Porvorim and Panjim. The higher authorities feel there are no major traffic problems in the villages and this was the reason behind the move. “ It is wrong to claim that there is no traffic in these areas. In 2017, we have reported 10 fatal accidents in these areas and have now identified Mulgao, Gokulwadi, Sanquelim, Honda junction, Valpoi market, PHC Sanquelim junction and Sarvan bus stop as accident- prone areas,” sources in the traffic cell informed. Following the transfer of personnel, many residents also met Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar and requested him to look into the matter.
