The arrival of the monsoons has been an
nounced and along with it the trauma a Shillongite normally faces during the rainy season has also been ushered. While rains are a relief to the water starved city of Shillong, it also takes the form of a nightmare as weeks of thunder showers not only worsen the already dilapidated pavements but makes walking through them almost impossible. “It is very difficult to walk through the footpath which gets inundated every time it pours,” said a pedestrian. “One has to actually think twice before choosing to walk on it,” she added.
The speed at which the cars move, coupled with their huge numbers, make it obligatory for the walkers to choose the footpaths but unfortunately there is hardly any place to walk on as they, for instance, travel from Police Bazaar to Jail Road where the walk seems impractical on a rainy day.
So is the case with pavements at IGP, Malki, Laitumkhrah, Dhankheti among others. Lashed by heavy rains the pavements not only get flooded with filthy water, but become dumping grounds filled with wrappers, paper cups, and other wastes. Thus, these footpaths do not help the pedestrians in anyway.
It is time the authorities act to restrict the causes behind the rising number of flooded streets following rainfall in the city. Improper and uncontrolled construction is considered to be the prime reason for the menace and preventive measures should be initiated before things get out of control.
Going back to the pavements, the railings that were planted in them never served any good either.
The railings were implanted to prevent the pedestrians from crossing the roads wherever they wished to. However as is observed, the purpose stands defeated and the railings have ended up restricting free movement while also taking away a lot of space.
Lately, it has been noticed that a few bars that joined the railings have been unscrupulously lifted in various places. In some cases, the bars have been broken to make place for people to pass through and cross the roads.The best instance of the so-called callous attitude of some people can be seen from the pavement stretching from Barik point to Civil where the bars stand completely distorted. “Why do the people have to destroy public property this way?” asked a concerned citizen. The possible end to this demolition of public property is nothing but a waste of government capital. (By Meghna Deb Roy)