KTC to conduct feasibility study on Margao-Colva route

MARGAO: The delay in launching the much-awaited Margao-Colva Kadamba bus service via Mungul has just got longer. The Kadamba transport corporation (KTC) has decided to conduct a feasibility study of the route before any decision is taken on introducing the service.
The managing director of the KTC, Venancio Furtado, speaking to TOI, said that the Margao-Colva bus service is unlikely to start before the end of monsoons."Before introducing our service on this route, it is imperative that we examine its viability. We have therefore decided to conduct a feasibility study of the route. This is going to take some time. A decision will be taken only after monsoons," Furtado said.
Interestingly, KTC's decision to delay commencing its operations has come at a time when the transport department has already issued permits to two of the KTC buses to ply along the Margao-Mungul-Colva road.
"We have issued permits to two KTC buses to ply along this route upto Gaundolim village. Initially, these two buses will be making five return trips each day. Hopefully, the services will commence very soon," assistant director of transport, Margao, Prakash Azavedo, said on Tuesday.
Prospects of the Margao-Mungul-Colva bus service had brightened after the transport department recently cleared the decks for its launch. The proposal was lying in limbo for the last several years.
Though the state's transport department had taken a decision to start the public transport system along this route over a year ago, the plan was relegated to the background, presumably owing to the stiff opposition from the taxi operators' as well as the private bus operators' lobby that enjoys political patronage.
Azavedo had, however, told TOI, recently, that "all hindrances have now been cleared and all issues laid to rest".
The Colva civic and consumer forum (CCCF) has been pursuing the matter with the authorities since 2008 urging them to start bus operations along the road.
Judith Almeida of the CCCF has repeatedly pointed out that absence of bus service has been causing "untold miseries" to the people residing in the locality and tourists.