Editor,
I want to bring to the notice of the Garo Hills District Council and the Traffic Police about random parking of private vehicles on the public road near District Council office, thereby causing acute traffic congestion in the area during office hours. There are 40 to 50 vehicles parked on both sides of the road in and around District Council office daily, leaving very little space for passing vehicles and pedestrians. Vehicles coming from different parts of Garo Hills remain parked on the main road the whole day. This reduces the pedestrian space. Even the footpath near Capt. Williamson Point is lined up with vehicles every day. To make matters worse, the District Council dumps construction materials, boulders, chips, sand, etc., thereby further reducing road space. Right now, the entire road space around the District Council office has become an unofficial ‘PARKING LOT’, not a public road any more. The worst sufferers because of this illegal blockade of public roads are the residents of Hawakhana locality.
This small but important link road, originating from Capt. Sangma’s residential compound leads to five different educational institutions including Tura Government College and Aero Ville School. As such, thousands of students throng this area everyday during peak hours.
In view of the prevailing traffic congestion in the area, I request the Chief Executive Member (CEM), GHDC, Mr P K Sangma and the Officer-in-Charge, Traffic Police to jointly find a permanent solution to this chronic problem. The following suggestions may be taken into consideration. The route could be made one- way during peak hours, from 8:30 AM to 3 PM. Outgoing vehicles should be diverted towards MSEB office junction and another via Tennis Court. Alternative arrangements may be made for park of official vehicles during office hours. No vehicle should be allowed to park within a radius of 500 meters from office entrance by encroaching on the public road.
Yours etc.
Rozario M Sangma,
Hawakhana, Tura.
Attention SBI authority!
Editor,
Everywhere we look there is a State Bank of India (SBI) billboard saying “No problem there is an ATM.” But the reality is completely different. The other day I had to pay my examination fees and it was also the last date. I tried to withdraw money from one SBI ATM to the next but all of them were not working. In one ATM it said ‘ Timed out’, at another ‘Temporarily unavailable’ at yet another place there was an ‘Out of service,’ notice. This is unacceptable as it creates too much inconvenience for depositors. I request the SBI authorities to take these public complaints seriously and rectify this perennial problem.
Yours etc.,
Leoberth S Rongmuthu
Shillong Law College