Margao/Vasco: About ten domestic flights delayed their departures and even relaxed their check-in time for passengers who were stuck for over four hours in a traffic blockade on both sides of the vital North-South link, the Zuari bridge, on Thursday afternoon.
Vasco traffic cell PI Sudesh Narvekar said trouble began when a car met with a minor accident on the bridge around 1.30pm. An hour later, just as police had begun sorting out the issue and clearing the piled-up traffic, a Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) bus travelling from Panaji to Vasco broke down in the middle of the bridge.
A tyre of the bus had burst and with no spare tyre on board, the driver had to requisition one from the KTC depot in Panaji, 16km away.
Since the accident and the breakdown occurred at what is peak time for domestic flights into and out of Goa, several passengers were caught in the gridlock that stretched up to 4km on both sides of the bridge.
Frantic calls from their passengers prompted SpiceJet, GoaAir and other airlines to delay their flights to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, said sources, adding that at Dabolim airport, about 300 passengers who had arrived were left stranded without taxis or coaches for close to two hours.
29/08/14 Times of India
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Vasco traffic cell PI Sudesh Narvekar said trouble began when a car met with a minor accident on the bridge around 1.30pm. An hour later, just as police had begun sorting out the issue and clearing the piled-up traffic, a Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) bus travelling from Panaji to Vasco broke down in the middle of the bridge.
A tyre of the bus had burst and with no spare tyre on board, the driver had to requisition one from the KTC depot in Panaji, 16km away.
Since the accident and the breakdown occurred at what is peak time for domestic flights into and out of Goa, several passengers were caught in the gridlock that stretched up to 4km on both sides of the bridge.
Frantic calls from their passengers prompted SpiceJet, GoaAir and other airlines to delay their flights to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, said sources, adding that at Dabolim airport, about 300 passengers who had arrived were left stranded without taxis or coaches for close to two hours.
29/08/14 Times of India
