Several Goa Congress leaders, including state unit chief Girish Chodankar, were detained today near here when they gathered to protest against frequent traffic jams on a key national highway.
The opposition party leaders, who had assembled at Cortaim village, 15km from here, were detained as a precautionary measure, police said.
"Congress workers, who had gathered at Cortalim to protest against traffic jam, were detained as their protest would have led to a chaotic situation on the highway," Superintendent of Police (South) Arvind Gawas told PTI.
They were taken into custody to ensure their protest does not lead to more traffic snarl on the busy motorway, he said.
The Congress was protesting against frequent traffic jams witnessed on the Panaji-Margao National Highway near the Zuari Bridge in Cortalim. Construction of a new bridge has been causing traffic obstructions.
Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee president Pratima Coutinho, who was amongst those detained, slammed the police action.
"We were agitating peacefully and wanted to highlight the plight of people, but the BJP-led government sent police force to detain us," she said.