Monstrous day-long traffic jam throws everything into disarray - ToI

TNN | Updated: Oct 11, 2016, 06.18 AM IST

PANAJI: Tight rows of vehicles jammed the Povorim-Panaji stretch of the highway for nearly the whole of Monday, leaving commuters frustrated with the massive traffic jam.

In the wee hours of Monday, one interstate trailer truck broke down at Porvorim and yet another one turned turtle on the same stretch, said deputy superintendent of police (DySP) for traffic (North Goa), Dharmesh Angle. The traffic of parents taking their children to school poured onto the roads from 7.30am onwards and soon vehicles began queuing.

"As it is traffic is heavy on Mondays. The two accidents and sudden rainfall added to the woes. Interstate buses at the interstate bus stand near Mandovi bridge arrived late due to the rainfall and worsened the jam. Two-wheeler riders began stopping for shelter due to the rainfall and the vehicles kept increasing on the road," said Angle.

Some commuters took the internal Porvorim roads to avoid the jam, but it did not help the situation as eventually they converged at the bottleneck near the Journalist Colony. Others took the road to Betim in the hope of crossing over to Panaji via the Betim ferry and did manage to get out of the jam.

But as office goers began to enter the scene from 9am onwards, the jam only got worse, covering a stretch of nearly a five-six kilometres - from O Coqueiro circle to the Panaji end of the Mandovi bridges. A visitor took a picture of defence minister Manohar Parrikar being stuck in traffic and posted it on social media.

The lack of an alternate route and the narrowing of roads at Porvorim due to the ongoing work on the new Mandovi bridge results in regular traffic jams in Porvorim, but none of the commuters were prepared for what they experienced on Monday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Monstrous-day-long-traffic-jam-throws-everything-into-disarray/articleshow/54787091.cms

The Goan, 11th Oct. 2016