Goa Public Transport Fed ups ante.Announces strike on HSRPs

In the building resentment against the enforcement of the high security registration plates for all vehicles in Goa, the All Goa public transport federation became the latest body to announce its agitational stance against the implementation of the High security registration plates in Goa and threatened to go on a one day token strike if the government of Goa fails to stop the process of its implementation.

The federation constitutes al transport operators in Goa including bus owners, taxi operators, rickshaw and two wheelers and pilots who are all set to observe the strike on Monday Aug 31 2009.

Interestingly, the strike call given by the transporters body has the backing of the state unit of the youth congress which had earlier protested the state governments move at Margao when they almost laid siege to the RTOs office last week.

It may be recalled that Goa had advocated the use of high security registration plates making the same mandatory to all vehicles as per the directives of the supreme court under the central motor vehicles act and a Mumbai base company  Shimnit Utsch had bagged the contract amidst opposition by the BJP.

The state of Goa has over 6.5 lakh vehicles registered with the road transport organisation (RTO). The representatives of the various transport organisations lamented that their memorandum made to the chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat on August 10 with a deadline of seven days had no response and with the deadline expiry on August 18, they had no choice but to  hold the strike which was held in abeyance due to the ganesh chaturthi celebrations in Goa.

The organisation alleged that the representatives in the assembly have not dwelled well enough on the scheme of HSRP and pointed out that the number plates are of no use in Goa as the state has no infrastructure to ensure that the features in the number plate are complimented by proper implementation like tracking of vehicles and other security related aspects as also the absence of a data bank in Goa.

The leader of the opposition Mr Manohar Parrikar had also alleged that there appeared to be a scam in the implementation of the HSRP scheme while saying that Goans were unnecessarily paying double the price compared top the west Bengal government where the number plates were charged at Rs 282 and 441 while people in Goa have to spe4nd Rs 550 and Rs 1250 for such plates.

Goa students need to learn traffic rules in School

The need to impart traffic rule education in Goan schools came to the fore in the assembly when the opposition MLAs maintained that the transport ministry had failed in its promise to make knowledge on traffic regulations as a part of school curriculum and no steps in this direction had so far been taken. However regular challans were being issued to defaulters with no education measures being undertaken by the government to ensure that the alarming rise in the number of road accidents in the state had arrested.

Mr Francis D’Souza, the Deputy opposition leader stressed on the imperative need for the procedure of acquiring a driving license to be made more stringent and lamented that bribes of Rs 500 were enough for anybody to get a licence and urged that unless the people are educated in traffic discipline, the licences should not be issued.

Also Mr D’Souza advised the government that improvement in road engineering aimed at widening accident prone zones would go a long way in reducing accidents considerably in Goa.

Road safety programmes need more teeth to be highlighted effectively to the community in Goa and good highways and one ways were the need of the hour said Mr D’Souza

Margao to see an overdue new bus stand soon

The city of Margao has a vintage bus stand which has seen the ravages of time but which is mysteriously ignored as almost being inconsequential to its citizens' welfare. The present KTC bus stand at Margao resembles a shambolic picture of the state of affairs that the commercial city is facing from the state government.However as per the latest buzz, things are expected to change with the Goa state Infrastructure development corporation (GSIDC) working on a ambitious proposal to construct a brand new bus stand with a multistoried complex at the same site by using the over 60,000 sq metres of vacant land available in the area.

The bus stand at Margao is expected to cost a staggering Rs 300 crore for which a public-private partnership is being worked out by the government. while serving as a model bus stand, for intercity and inter state buses, the area is likely to be transformed into a commercial hub and therefore contribute as a revenue model for the state of Goa which will help the government earn money.

The Kadamba transport corporation has forwarded a proposal to the government of Goa which had earlier approved the concept and now has forwarded the file to the GSIDC for its approval. The new bus stand will be adjoining an entire hub of commercial activity with the new South Goa collectorate building complex being its immediate neighbour on one side and the SGPDA market as another hotspot of commercial activity on the other side.

Depending on the success of this business model, the government is likely to replicate the hubs at the Panaji bus stand and subsequently at Porvorim, where the corporation has already got land in its possession.

The entire proposal is however in its stage of infancy and the GSIDC will be now looking into its details before presenting it to the GSIDC board for approval. Simultaneously, discussions are likely to involve the finance and the transport department to check upon the overall implications that the project is likely to present.

The GSIDC will however have to enter into a memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the KTC, which is the owner of the land in Margao, and would need its approval before advertising the expression of interest for the project.The project is likely to take a few years before being a reality on the ground.