Porvorim Carnival cancelled, parade route unchanged for Panaji

Panaji: The 2025 Carnival parade will be held along the same route as last year with the floats starting from the new Patto bridge and continuing to Campal, said the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) mayor Rohit Monserrate. He said that the Carnival parade will start at 5pm, with the flag-off likely from the old secretariat building.

Meanwhile, the Carnival float parade, which was supposed to be held on Friday in Porvorim has been called off due to the ongoing construction of the six-lane flyover and the use of the service road for traffic diversion.

As part of the preparations for the celebrations, including the traffic plan, CCP will hold meetings with Goa police and Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) to ensure the smooth flow of vehicles. “We had a meeting with smart city officials and officials of every department. The route remains the same,” said Monserrate.

Some of the Carnival committee members had concerns about the parking of the floats before and after the parade. The directorate of fire and emergency services also raised some concerns, which Monserrate said will be addressed. “We want to have a separate meeting with Goa police and with the smart city officials. Smart city should not interfere with Carnival celebrations,” the mayor said.

IPSCDL managing director Sanjit Rodrigues said that to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, the ongoing works along MG Road will be sped up. “CCP told us that MG Road needs to be completed. We have informed them that we will complete it by maybe Feb 26. We will make the road motorable,” said Rodrigues.

Monserrate said that work on the samba square will be completed and that the traditional Samba Square Carnival will be held at the usual church square and Garcia de Orta gardens. “The timings will be regular, with the float parade starting at 5pm, and then it will lead to samba square,” said Monserrate.

He added that CCP has already disbursed the registration forms for various categories for the Carnival parade. “Things are moving smoothly,” said Monserrate, adding, “I don’t think there should be any concern about the traffic congestion and parking. The department officials are quite capable of getting the work done.”