PANAJI: The annually-held Lokotosav draws hundreds to its venue in Campal, but residents of the area find themselves inconvenienced through the duration of the festival. From parking woes to daily traffic congestion, the Dayanand Bandodkar Marg stretch near Kala Academy (KA) is a chaotic mess in the evenings each time there is a cultural event at either the football ground, Darya Sangam or KA.“It’s a nightmare for residents every time there is a cultural event in the premises, especially on weekends. We have installed ‘no parking’ signs yet people park their vehicles near our building complex,” Hans Fernandes, who lives opposite the Dayanand Bandodkar football ground, said.On any given day, there are 300 vehicles moving in and out of the lane opposite KA, leading to the building complex. However, during cultural events people park their four wheelers inside the lane making it difficult for residents to manoeuvre their own vehicles, leave aside CCP garbage trucks , water tankers, or, in the case of an emergency, an ambulance.The sound from the live performances is another matter of concern. “On the first day of the festival the music went on till 10.45pm. The festival coincides with the Class X preliminary examination. The music also disturbs other students and senior citizens in the residential area,” another local said.Polly Raikar, who lives opposite KA, said that traffic congestion is also a daily scenario, especially between 7pm and 10.30pm. “While the traffic police are doing their best, there are not enough officers at the junction past 7pm. We had given a representation to the CCP to discontinue such events on the premises four years ago, but to no avail,” he added.At the municipal council meetings in the past, former deputy mayor Kabir Pinto Makhija had highlighted issues faced by Campal residents because of exhibitions held in the area. “Despite a council resolution being passed that no exhibitions will be held at Campal, permissions continue to be issued for the same. Exhibitions should be moved to an area where there is ample parking,” he added.“We worry that in case of an emergency, residents will not receive timely assistance as it will be difficult for emergency services to manoeuvre their way through the traffic snarls and haphazard parking,” said corporator Soraya Pinto Makhija.Director, art and culture, Gurudas Pilernekar said that despite inconvenience caused to residents, cultural events cannot be held elsewhere. “We attempted to move the festival to Ponda and Mapusa, but it did not materialise. Hundreds of craftsmen that come to Goa for the festival cannot be accommodated in those areas. We can think of alternate parking solutions in the coming year,” he said.

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