Traffic hazards - Soter

(Letter published in herald on 19 Feb 2014) It is no surprise that the Porvorim MLA is so concerned about the panic and worries of the business establishments along NH17 due to the stretch from Malim to O'Coqueiro being notified as a 'No Parking' zone (Herald, 14 February). Citizens are also aware of the actual motives behind the service roads and underpasses being proposed or constructed with such haste in the guise of easing traffic movement. The same urgency is not being shown when it comes to tackling the hazard caused to residents due to over speeding of vehicles, absence of adequate pedestrian crossings and service lanes for those living in the four village panchayats through which the NH17 intersects. The gram sabha of Socorro village has even brought to the notice of the authorities the nuisance and danger caused to pedestrians and vehicular traffic by vehicles parked along NH17 but there has been no response. The MLA would do well to first provide the public with the National Highways Code and other relevant rules so that citizens become aware of what activities are permissible, the prescribed setbacks for commercial activities and the various facilities to be provided to residents in the area. Soter D'Souza, Socorro