Everyday the vernacular media carries stories of bad road conditions in areas beyond the capital city of Shillong. Not that Shillong is any better but its roads have to be reasonably motorable so facilitate a smooth drive for SUVs of different make and style. People have been coming out to work on making the roads somewhat motorable or else it would be impossible for them to transport their products and also to commute between the district headquarters, the state capital and the rural backwaters.
Road making is an activity that takes a lot of time in Meghalaya. Take for instance the Shillong bypass which even after a quarter of a century has not materialised. The PWD minister (Roads) was keen on sending the trucks through the by-pass even though it was not ready.
He did this because civil society had given the Government an ultimatum after some major traffic snarls prevented their kids from reaching school and writing their Board exams. The PWD engineers pleaded with the minister for some more time to complete the road, otherwise even what is existing would collapse. That was an excellent posturing on the part of the PWD minister. He has brought the Shillong by-pass into the limelight and indirectly shown people that they cannot push the Government to use the bypass now. Smart move! But not so smart because after that expedition to the Shillong bypass with the press in tow, another bigger traffic jam lasting 20 hours occurred on National Highway 40. After that another group of concerned citizens met and decided to give a memorandum to the chief minister on what and how to regulate NH 40 but have not been able to meet him as yet.
It is doubtful if the Government has any contingency plan for NH 40 and NH 44 which are the lifelines of Meghalaya and the North East. Suffice it to say that our highways are virtually on life support systems. While these lifelines have to be built within a definite time frame it is important to also give due attention to roads in all the seven districts some of which are so badly constructed that they are washed away with the first monsoons. Road making should no longer be a secondary activity. Nor should the Chief Minister tolerate corruption in road construction. What is seen over the years is that engineers, contractors and the minister takes shares out of all road projects and give people a road that’s not worth the money spent. If the MUA considers infrastructure creation as its top priority than it had better concentrate on roads for the next two years until the 2013 elections. This will show that it means business. It will also be a blessing for the rural people and improve their livelihoods.