The devotees from across Goa who visited Govladevi Temple on the Goa-Karnataka border for the annual zatrotsav celebrations held on Sunday had a harrowing experience after the road remained blocked for over five hours.
The temple though located in Karnataka just at the outskirts of the Goa border towards Zuna village in Sanguem is visited by local devotees from Goa on a regular basis. However, on the annual zatrotsav day, thousands of people throng to the temple and it causes a beeline of vehicles on the narrow kutcha road which passes through thick jungle in the hilly area.
Though the traffic remains smooth all along despite the many hurdles, on Sunday the situation worsened after the road witnessed blockade at several points. People had a tough time proceeding to the temple and getting down the hillock. As the people were stranded for very long hours, they got dehydrated due to the intense heat.
The problem of road blockades normally arises when new drivers use the road as they find it difficult to negotiate sharp curves and turns. Despite knowing the fact that a large number of devotees rush to the Govladevi Temple for the annual zatrotsav celebration, no assistance for the smooth movement of vehicular traffic is seen in the area over the years. It is normally the locals who volunteer to guide traffic on the zatrotsav day.
After Sunday's jam, the devotees have appealed to the authorities to consider the difficulties witnessed by the locals in visiting the Gouladevi Temple at least in the coming years.
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