Holiday traffic chaos: Calangute roads see massive jam after rain

NT Reporter

Calangute

Severe traffic jams were caused on the roads leading to Calangute during the brief dry spell on Saturday, causing a major disruption for tourists heading
to the beach and local market areas.

The heavy traffic was seen after two days of continuous rain during the long Diwali weekend. With numerous tourists visiting Calangute for the holidays, the roads were clogged with a mix of outstation and rented vehicles.

The Calangute Traffic Cell, led by Police Inspector Brendon D’Souza supervised the diversion of traffic at the busy Calangute-Baga circle, a key junction that had become a bottleneck due to the overwhelming number of vehicles. The decision to reroute cars and two-wheelers towards alternate routes, including the Poriat Ground road, helped alleviate the congestion on the main road leading to the Calangute Beach and the market.

Traffic jams were reported on several major roads, including Arpora-Calangute-Baga road, Saligao-Calangute road, and Candolim-Calangute road, with the recently launched Echo Traffic Assistance teams playing a crucial role in managing the flow of vehicles, particularly around Candolim.

Tourists voiced frustration over heavy traffic, though many welcomed the break from rain. “We came to Goa for Diwali, but the rains in Calangute limited our plans. Thankfully, it’s dry today, but the
traffic is overwhelming. We went to the beach first before exploring other spots, but the roads are jam-packed,” said Mondal, visiting with his family.

Meanwhile, in the evening, there was a traffic jam along  NH 66 in Porvorim a kilometre before the Mandovi bridge. According to motorists, it was caused due to some barricade put up by the police just before the bridge.