Increased visitors, dug-up roads, work on NH 66 jam Calangute-Candolim routes

Calangute: A huge rush of tourists who have come to spend the year’s last weekend in the Calangute-Candolim tourism hub choked practically all the roads from the O’Coqueiro junction at Porvorim, along the Chogm Road to Calangute and further till Sinquerim. Besides, the main roads from Pilerne to Porvorim and the Nerul-Candolim road were also jammed.With the digging of the Poriat ground road for work on two major sewerage chambers, only one lane is open and that is affecting a smooth traffic flow, said Calangute locals.“This sewerage work has been going on for the last 12 years and now they have dug this road right in the middle of the peak season. Looks like they have done this to cripple the business of some people here,” said Calangute Congress block workers on Saturday.“Tourists who come driving their own vehicles go by Google maps which shows this road as a shortcut to the beach. So when they come from Candolim side, they find the road closed. Because of this, the road from the market side is witnessing heavy traffic,” said a local.The situation was exacerbated with the closure of lanes due to the digging of Chogm Road from Saligao to Calangute, besides ongoing work on the elevated corridor in Porvorim.Tourism stakeholders said while the roads were comparatively empty on Christmas Day, the number of vehicles has picked up since Saturday, and the days leading to the New Year are likely to see more tourists driving in. “It is the same in the last few years. During Christmas, the crowd is smaller, but it increases by the New Year,” said John Lobo, general secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society.Another big group of vehicles are the taxis from the neighbouring districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka that bring in visitors for day trips. “These are the picnic tourists. They come in the morning and go in the evening. They only come for drinking,” said Manuel Cardozo, the president of the Traditional Shack Owners Association, adding, “Mostly, they bring their own food.”Traffic was largely flowing smoothly despite the large number of vehicles, with traffic police visible at most junctions.