City set for facelift
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Government has come up with a detailed plan for beautification of Khyndailad area and widening of roads in certain stretches of the city at a cost of Rs 16 crore.
The decisions were taken at a joint meeting of different departments of the State Governments chaired by Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma at the Secretariat on Thursday.
Addressing media persons after the meeting, the Chief Minister said, “The design for the beautification of Khyndailad is being prepared with the idea to make walking more attractive for people.”
“Efforts would also be made to identify more areas for beautification and to convert certain areas as walk-only zones and restrict driving so that pedestrians have enough space for themselves,” Dr Sangma added. Providing details of the beautification plan, the Chief Minister mentioned that stylish tiles would be put up on the foot paths in and around the Khyndailad junction till a certain stretch of GS Road and Thana Road.
“Vehicles will now be allowed to enter certain stretches in Khyndailad and more walking zones would be allotted to further add to the beauty of the heart of the city,” Dr Sangma mentioned.
Besides the beautification of Khyndailad, the State Government is also planning to widen certain roads in the city to ease the ever-increasing traffic congestion in the city.
According to Dr Sangma, certain roads in Nongmynsong and Madanriting areas have been identified for widening. Besides, the Government is also contemplating construction of a road connecting Oakland to Polo Bazar.
Reacting to a query about the proposed flyover which which is yet to see the light of the day, the Chief Minister said, “I have already written to the Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister with a demand to hand over some of the defence land for the flyover considering that the city has been growing at a rapid pace.”
It may not be out of place to mention that several years have gone by but the proposed flyover is yet to take off as the Ministry of Defense is yet to clear the request of the State Government to hand over land within the Defense jurisdiction for the proposed flyover.
Meanwhile, in the bid to decongest traffic, the State Government has also identified certain places as embarkation and disembarkation points for buses and taxis.
“A separate parking bay would also be constructed for which the Government would require land. We would like to appeal to the people to cooperate so that the land acquisition for the parking bay does not run into any hurdle,” Dr Sangma added.
Govt to commission roads under PMGSY
The State Government has decided to commission all roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by 2015. This means that several important road projects in the State including the long-pending Tura Bypass and other roads may soon become a reality.
Talking to media person here on Thursday Dr Sangma said the new proposed alignment for the 28-kilometre Tura Bypass project has been approved.
The Chief Minister also said the State Government would take steps to ensure that the target to connect all the villages in the State is achieved by 2015.
“We will ensure that the deadline for the project is not crossed,” he added.