Citizens live with the hope that life will improve for them next year
In modern times, excitement has become the buzzword for human existence, especially in urban regions. The cities and towns in the country are overflowing with energy. The urban nightlife bustles with vibrancy, just as young crowds move swiftly in the nook and corner of such places. City lights – the excitement of city life, especially at night – is the prerequisite for making a city or a town attractive to its visitors. At one time, Panaji, the capital of Goa situated along the once serene Mandovi River went to sleep early, soon after the sun went down. However, by the turn of the century Goa became a ‘happening place’ and Panaji too changed its image from being a docile city to a vivacious location. Today, the city has lost its original character and the residents are finding it not only difficult to relate to it, but also live in it.
Goa is swept by the Christmas fervour soon after the arrival of the month of December. Panaji too is a part of this transformation. This year, it has become totally unfeasible to move in the capital city during the month of December. A stretch of Dayanand Bandodkar Road is full of crowds waiting to visit the casinos, while another section of this road is swarming with people, who are visiting the fair set up along the Mandovi promenade, as a part of the feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, which is long over.
As one walks inside the central part of Panaji, many of its roads are found to be dug up to carry out the works under the Smart City Mission. Those who are travelling in these parts fully know how harsh and dangerous it is to move in the city. The locals are enduring inconveniences as several interior roads have been dug up. Furthermore, the city will be a host for next one week to Serendipity Arts Festival 2023, to be held at 13 city venues. These venues include gardens at Campal, the excise building, Old GMC Complex, The ESG Complex, Santa Monica Jetty, Old PWD Complex, multi-level parking facility, Samba Square, Nagalli Hills Ground, Campal Promenade, Dinanath Mangeshkar Kala Mandir, Azad Maidan and in general, across Panaji city. One can very well imagine the stress coming on the city, during this period, especially due to the vehicular traffic.
Panaji, being an important city of Goa, is also visited by large number of tourists during the year-end. Such visitors have already started arriving in the city. All such excessive guests and the disproportionate vehicles will be a burden on the city, during the days to come. The movement in the city will be difficult, especially as many roads have been dug up and hence become unmotorable and pedestrian-unfriendly. Furthermore, many of the tourists, who move around on rented bikes or rented cars drive against the one-way roads, without bothering to read the road signs. This increases the risk of accidents, during the period when Goa is all set to acquire the title of ‘Accident capital of the country’.
Any city, town or region can organise any number of events at the same time, however the basic requirement for the same is discipline. If there are no regulations in place, then it is very difficult to manage such chaotic situations. The hordes of people visiting the feast fair and the crowds near the entry points to the casinos are examples of utter public indiscipline. The roads are blocked, traffic-jams occur and many-a-time police are conspicuous by their absence. The city lights instead of shining bright have dimmed on the people of Panaji. The local MLA as well as the City Mayor are rarely seen on the roads trying to solve the problems.
It would be too much to expect from the authorities that all these difficulties faced by the residents of Panaji would be solved immediately. However, one can hope that solutions would come for the problems next year, especially as voters would be king, at least during the initial part of 2024. Expecting the city to regain its original form, character and constitution is now out of question. However, the least that Panjimites can hope for are clear roads, unobstructive footpaths and well managed traffic. If this is too much to ask for, then the public representatives should hang their heads in shame.