Many roads in the
city are nameless.
And therefore it becomes very difficult for a newcomer or even local residents to trace a new address.
Many tourists have observed that Shillong being a tourist destination and a capital city is wanting in basic civic senses as there are no road signs or markings for outsiders to identify the places.
Not only the tourists, but even the residents in the city sometimes find it difficult to identify the roads since there are no signboards to indicate the names of those roads. Most of the well known roads too are devoid of any signboards thereby adding to the confusion.
A tourist from south India said that there should be proper road signs in place in order to identify which roads go where.
“Here I have seen that in one big signboard all road names are mentioned one after another. To remember these road names and their directions, one needs a hard disk drive on the head,” he said.
Another tourist said that Police Bazaar which is the city’s main spot does not have any visible road signboards for pedestrians’ help.
“In New Delhi, there are maps of a certain area put up in big boards on the roadside so that it becomes easier for the pedestrians and commuters to know the area of the city,” she said, adding that Shillong being a tourist destination should have the names of the roads inscribed in signboards in every road.
“This is common sense. There are many people who come to Shillong on a daily basis besides tourists and it is quite expected that road should have their names mentioned at the entrance or the exit,” a local resident observed.
Many a times it observed that people give description of a road or lane by identifying them to some milestones etc.
A tourist said that the road near Ward’s Lake has no name in it whereas the Camel Back Road is very confusing since the signboard of Shanti Bhawan (dedicated to Mother Teresa) says it is at Camel Back Road whereas the adjacent Area Accounts Office of the Defence signboard reads Bivar Road.
“Such haphazard naming of road confuses those who are coming from outside,” he said.
In a particular instance of confusion, recently a city resident asked his fiancée (from outside the city) to meet him on the road that goes inside the Defence quarters from Anjalee Cinema Hall. The helpless girl could not identify the location and mistakenly took the Butcher Road only to be greeted by the familiar sight of a bunch of chaps relieving themselves on side of the road. She ultimately called up her fiancé who had to rush to the rescue of his damsel in distress.
Reacting to the incident, the groom to be, said that he had intended to take his fiancée to the Defence quarters road which is full of beautiful lanes and greenery and was planning to take a walk through the Pine Walk from there. “Lack of sign boards led to the problem,” he added. (Rajib Roy)
