With the city planning its expansion towards the north, the road from Polo via Nongmynsong would be the lifeline of the area given the expected increase in the number of commuters taking the route in future.
Realising the urgency of the matter, people from Nongmynsong had agreed to part with their lands for the Nongmynsong road project which is on track despite the monsoon.
In doing this, the residents became pioneer of sorts making their locality one of the first in Shillong to provide land for a road expansion project.
The project which will cost the government Rs 8 crore-Rs 1 crore for the construction and Rs 7 crore to be paid as compensation to the residents-will help in easing the traffic congestion along the route.
While admitting that land acquisition is a major problem in any such project, GAD Minister AL Hek said recently that earlier people were reluctant to part with their land but after successive meetings, the residents realized the importance of the project.
“The construction work is making steady progress even though the rains have slowed down the work a bit”, the Minister, who is also the local MLA, added.
“We are now waiting for the MeECL to remove the electrical poles from its old locations,” Hek added.
The city today faces one of its worst traffic conditions and road expansion is one of the solutions to the growing menace.
The government had throughout faced stiff resistance from people both within and outside the city when it came to development projects, especially road construction.
However, the residents of Nongmynsong have set an example for the rest to follow suit.
“We all are witness to the traffic problem in the city which in the past has even cost lives. The project gave us an opportunity to do our bit to solve the menace,” said a resident of the area.
With the traffic snarls coming back to haunt the city residents due to the ongoing construction of a culvert at Don Bosco Point, serious questions are being raised about the city’s ability to enable its traffic to move half as smoothly in the years to come.
Given this, it is pertinent that localities of Shillong which have the provision of making land available for road expansion, initiate such moves so as to secure the future of the generations to come.
Local bodies like the Dorbar Shnong will have a major role to play in convincing the people, telling them the way to go ahead with things from hereon to avoid what can be called a catastrophic scenario in the not-so-distant future.
The administration also needs to play its part in sensitizing people on the impending disorders which would result due to in action as far as widening the city streets are concerned.
“The need of the hour is to go on a massive sensitization process to drive the point home.”
“We have seen government spending money to educate people on various isssues like spread of deadly diseases etc. Time is ripe that the same should be done on this issue (road expansion across the city), “said a resident.
The above view expressed by the concerned citizen might be taken a going too far by many.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that road expansion is one of the ways to ease traffic in the city and deserves its space in the government’s scheme of things.
Meanwhile, the GAD Minister also informed that the roads leading to Polo, Orchid Hotel and Bivar road would also be expanded.
“All these are GAD roads and we have approved the expansion recently,” he informed recently.
(The Shillong Times
Bureau)